Unexpected Things
by l-a-c-18
Summary: Set after CCIPC. Brooke and Lucas are still together, but for how long? What does Nathan have to do with all of this? And what about Peyton? BL NH BN friendship bits of PJ Now complete!
1. Everything Is Okay

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with One Tree Hill.**

**Summary: This story is set after CCIPC. Brooke and Lucas are still together, but for how long? What does Nathan have to do with all of this? What about Peyton?**

**A/N:This story is going to take place after Crash Course In Polite Conversation. Everything that happened on the show has happened, but everything after will be changed. I might use some of the plots. I'm not quite sure yet.**

**A/N2: I know this story is set in a old eppy, but I just had these ideas that wouldn't stop coming. I guess you can blame it on the Season One DVDs. I can't stop watching them. And since CCIPC is my most hated eppy and I didn't like how things turned out for Brooke afterward. Namely how she really didn't have anyone to turn to and she pretty much was all alone for a while. I decided to change things to where I liked them. So let me know if I should continue with this story or if it is a little to old to be bringing up again. Thanks, I hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter one**

_**Everything is Okay**_

Lucas and Peyton were on their way to her house to meet up with Brooke when they decided to stop at the Rivercourt to talk about what had just happened between them. They sat parked with the top up. Nobody said anything for a long while not knowing what to say. Finally the silence became overbearing.

"Peyton what we did was wrong."

"I know. I can't believe I let it happen."

"But even though it was wrong, it felt really good."

"So, you did feel it too?"

"Yes. I just don't know what to do about it."

"Me neither, but if it feels this good, why should we stop?"Peyton leaned forward as did Lucas and their lips met.

Peyton wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him in closer. Lucas kissed her back forcefully. Both were too into what was going on at that moment to see the figure walk up to the car and then retreat back after seeing everything.

They finally decided to take a break to finish their conversation.

"So, what are we going to do?"asked Peyton.

"I don't know. I don't want to hurt Brooke, but I also don't know if I want to stop doing this."

"I don't want to hurt her either she's my best friend, but maybe we can have both."

"What do you mean?"

"Just that this feels good and we don't want it to end, so maybe we continue this, us, and just don't tell Brooke yet. Not until we feel that the time is right and that she'll be okay with this."

"I don't know if I can do that, but I'm willing to give it a try."

Peyton leaned forward and gave him another kiss before they drove to her house to meet up with her best friend and Lucas' girlfriend.

After witnessing what she did, Haley walked to her house shocked. She went straight up to her room and without bothering to turn on the light she threw herself onto her bed. She couldn't stop thinking about what she had just seen. She never thought that while walking home from the cafe she would see Lucas and Peyton kissing. They didn't seem to have a care in the world other than each other. What is going on? Last she knew Lucas was still with Brooke and they seemed like they were happy. It looked like they couldn't keep their hands off each other, but then again not too long ago Lucas looked like he couldn't keep his hands off of Peyton. She couldn't believe what was going on. She felt so bad for Brooke. What they were doing to her was just plain wrong. Yes, she knew it was wrong and Brooke did deserve to know, but at the same time she knew she would never say anything. Lucas was her best friend. Besides who was she to judge them? This was none of her business. For all she knew this was a huge misunderstanding. Although you really can't misunderstand seeing two people kissing, who really shouldn't be. Haley's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Hey babe, what are you doing sitting here alone in the dark?"

"I'm just thinking."

"About?"

Haley hesitated."Oh, nothing really just about how much of a jerk Lucas is turning into."

"Wow. I didn't see that coming. What did he do? I've never heard you say a bad thing about him."

"Lucas isn't perfect and I know that."

"I guess you do now. So what'd he do to piss you off?"

"He didn't do anything to me. I've just been thinking about how much he's changed in these last couple of weeks."

"You mean since he's been seeing Brooke? You need to cut her a little slack. She's not that bad. In fact she's not bad at all. Anything that Lucas has done, he's done because he wanted to, not because she talked him into it."

"I know that and that's not what I meant. Brooke has nothing to do with why I'm mad at Lucas. I'm mad at him because he's an ass."

Nathan couldn't help but laugh."Wow things really have changed."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well just that not long ago you were probably using that word to describe me, not Lucas. Who would have known that after I decided to use you to get back at him we would switch places."Nathan let out another laugh.

Haley just stared at him. She couldn't believe what he just said. It had to be a mistake."What did you just say?"

"Nothing just that after I used you to get back at him we totally switched places. He's now the ass."

"No, your wrong I think that you both are asses."yelled Haley.

"What?" Nathan finally realized what he said. She didn't know that they started out because he wanted to get at Lucas."Haley that's changed now you know that. Just because that's how it started doesn't mean that's how it still is. You know that right?"

"No, actually I don't know anything anymore because I thought I knew you and obviously I was wrong. Everything that Lucas said about you was true and I was just the dumb one that didn't believe it. I swore to Lucas you were a great guy and you made me a liar."

"Haley please, you have to listen."

"I don't have to do anything. I want you to leave."

"No, we need to talk about this."

"I said leave. I can't stand to look at you right now."

"Haley, I..."

"Just go."

Nathan knew that she was upset and needed time to cool off so he decided to leave. When he stepped out of her room he turned to say something, but she in turn slammed the door in his face.

(**Later**)

Brooke and Lucas are lying down on her bed.

"I'm so glad that everything turned out okay with Larry. I hate to even think about what would be right now if things turned out differently."

"Shh, Brooke don't even think about that. Like you said everything is okay and we should be grateful for that."

"I know and I am, but things could have easily turned out different. God just think, Peyton almost lost her dad. I don't think she could have taken that. Not again. I know we were little when her mom died, but I still remember that she took it really hard. I'm really glad Larry's okay."

Lucas turned from his position on his back to his side so he was now facing Brooke. He took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers."It must have really been bad back then, when she lost her mom I mean."

"It was. Peyton and I were only nine or ten. We were already really good friends. I was always at her house and her mom never seemed to mind and we all know that my parents could care less where I was. I really loved Anna. She would always let us help her bake cookies or cakes. She always baked whatever we wanted that day. And then one day she was just gone. One red light and that was it for her. I will never forget the look on Peyton's face when Larry told her her mother died. I may have only been nine, but after that day I promised to never let anyone or anything hurt her again. I vowed to myself to never let that look cross her face again. So far it hasn't.We were good friends already, but after her mom died we became inseparable. We were all each other had and it was enough for us." Brooke raised her free hand to her face and began to wipe away the tears that had already fallen as she talked about the past.

Lucas lifted Brooke's hand that he was still holding to his mouth and kissed it."You have such an amazing heart Brooke. I've always known that, but hearing you talk about how much you love Peyton. Wow. You continue to blow me away everyday we're together."

"There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. I would never do anything to hurt her and I know she wouldn't do anything to hurt me either. We're too close to do anything like that."said Brooke with a smile.

Lucas couldn't help but look away. Brooke had so much faith in Peyton and and everyone in general. It would kill her if she found out about what he and Peyton did. Hell, what they were still doing. It gave him little comfort to know that he stopped things before they went too far, but then again did he really? Just kissing his girlfriends best friend was going too far. At that moment he realized what a bastard he really was. But you can't help the way you feel about a person whether you want to or not. He's always wanted to be with Peyton right? He wasn't so sure anymore. There he was thinking about his time spent making out with Peyton and it didn't bring him comfort. It made him stick to his stomach. He couldn't believe what he had done. As bad as it was though, maybe it was also a good thing. It made him realize exactly what he wanted. And she was lying right beside him. She was the one with a heart of gold. When she let you in, you were there to stay. She was fiercely loyal and he'd never known anyone like her. It's too bad he knew he didn't deserve her. He decided he couldn't think like that. She was his and he had to make everything up to her, even if she didn't know why. She could never know why. Could she? Would she be able to forgive him if she ever found out?

"Broody? Hello?"Brooke called out waving a hand in front of his face.

Lucas was brought back to reality."What?"

"Where'd you go? I've been calling your name forever. You seemed like you were somewhere else."

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About?"asked Brooke turning onto her stomach resting her arms and head on Lucas' chest.

"You."

"Me? Really?"asked Brooke a little shocked.

Lucas smiled."Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"

"No. I guess not. So what exactly were you thinking about me?"

"Well if you must know."said Lucas rolling his eyes."I was thinking about how wonderful you are and how much I don't deserve you."

"Lucas.."Brooke was cut off as Lucas continued to talk.

"And how much I..."Lucas stopped as he realized something he never thought he would.

"How much you what?"asked Brooke. Her curiosity was peaked and she wanted to know what he was going to say and why he stopped.

Lucas sat up pulling her up with him. He grasped both her hands in his."How much I love you."

Brooke's eyes widened in surprise and without realizing it she stopped breathing. That was the last thing she thought he'd say and her shock was evident. She finally let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding as her eyes teared up."Wh...Wh...What did you say?"she was finally able to get it out.

"I said I love you Brooke. I don't, know maybe it's too soon to be saying it, but I just couldn't help it. It's how I feel. I just thought you should know."Lucas said every word never breaking eye contact with her. A person could get lost just looking into her beautiful green eyes.

Brooke couldn't help but let the tears fall. Those were the exact words she had secretly longed to hear him say, but never thought he actually would."I don't know what to say."she whispered.

"You don't have to say anything Brooke. Not until your ready. I know this is a lot to take in. I want you to know that I've done some things that I'm not proud of."This was it. Lucas was going to tell her about Peyton. He looked into her eyes once again and saw how happy she looked behind all the tears. He couldn't hurt her. He couldn't take away her glow. Not now at least. He had just told her he loved her and he couldn't ruin it. Not for either of them. He would tell her just not right now."But from this day forward I am going to do everything I can to make you happy."

Tears continued to fall from Brooke's eyes. She couldn't stop them even if she tried. She never thought this day would come. The only guy she had ever let herself love now said he loved her too. He said it without her having to say it first. There was no doubt in her mind that he meant every word. Lucas wasn't the type of guy to lie about something this serious. Brooke smiled and jumped into his lap."I love you too Lucas."

**A/N3:**Hey everyone. I know it took a while, but I'm finally back with my second story. I hope you all enjoy this one as much as you enjoyed my last one. That is if you enjoyed my last one. lol. Although I hope this one is a little better seeing how I'm no longer a writing virgin. I know this chapter is short, but I just wanted to introduce you to this story. Let me know if you liked this first chapter. Is this storyline too old for your liking? Should I quit or continue? Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks.

**A/N4:**I just wanted to say that I'm not sure what Peyton's moms name is, but in a few different fics I've read I've seen them use the name Anna, so I also went with that. Thanks.


	2. Getting Started

**Chapter Two**

_**Getting Started**_

Err,Err,Err.

Lucas awoke to the hideous sound coming from his alarm clock. He quickly shut if off, not wanting to hear that racket for another second and stayed in bed. In no way was he in a hurry to get to school today. He was going to have to hurt someone he really cared about. He was going to have to tell her he made a mistake and take back everything he said yesterday. How was he supposed to do that? How was he going to hurt her? Lucas quickly got up and out of bed and as he walked to take a shower he realized that no matter how painful it was going to be it had to be done and today.

After he got out of the shower he quickly got dressed and went to meet his uncle in the kitchen.

"Morning Luke. Man you look like crap. What's going on?"

"Have you ever had to do something you knew was going to hurt someone, but it had to be done?"asked Lucas.

"Well I hope that this hurting you are talking about isn't anything physical? I don't want you endangering yourself."

"No, Keith I'm not talking about physically hurting someone. I'd never do that. It's just that there's this girl and what I have to tell her is really gonna hurt her."

"Well if you know she's going to be hurt, why tell her anything at all?"

"Because there's this other girl and I..."

"Oh, I get it now."

"I really don't want to do this, but I know I have to."

"Yes you do. This girl deserves to know you don't feel the same way she does. It wouldn't be right if you didn't and trust me she'd be able to tell something was up."

"I know. I guess I'll see you later."

"Sure thing. Be home before 7:00. Your mom is calling tonight."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye and good luck."

"Thanks."

Lucas left the kitchen shutting the door behind him.

"Poor Brooke."said Keith shaking his head.

* * *

In another house Haley was also waking up dreading going to school, but for a different reason. She didn't want to have to see Nathan. It was going to be hard. She didn't want to hear his excuses on why he did what he did or how everything was now different. It didn't matter. Everything between them was a lie and it had been all along. She was just too stupid to realize it on her own. She should have listened to Lucas. If she had then she wouldn't be hurting so much right now. 

Her thoughts drifted back to Lucas. She still couldn't believe what he was doing. She knew she needed to talk to him and get his side of the story. She was going to tell him to tell Brooke. She just hoped she didn't see her first. It would be hard not saying anything, but she couldn't, he was her best friend.

Haley quickly got dressed and was about to walk out the door when the doorbell rang.

She opened it and really wasn't surprised at who was standing on the other side. She was actually surprised it had taken him this long to come and see her again."Why are you here? I thought I told you to stay away from me."

"I know you did, but you never said for how long. So I assumed this was long enough."said Nathan with a slight smile, hoping she'd give him one in return. No such luck.

"Well you assumed wrong. I can't believe you actually came over here and expected everything to be okay."

"I didn't expect everything to be okay. I just wanted us to talk before we went to school. I wanted you to know I was sorry. Because I am. I was stupid and I went after you for the wrong reason, but you have to know all that's changed. Please say you believe me."pleaded Nathan.

"I do believe you Nathan."started Haley.

"Oh thank god."Nathan stepped forward and was about to hug her when she stopped him."I thought you said everything was okay."

"That's not what I said. I said I do believe you Nathan, but that doesn't change the fact that you've been lying to me since day one. And in no way is that okay. I don't trust you anymore."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means that we can't be together anymore. I think we should break up."

"No. We can't. Don't do this Haley."

"That's just it Nathan. I didn't do this, you did. Now I want you to leave."

"Haley."

"Please don't make this harder Nathan. Just go."

Nathan gave her one last pleading look before he turned and walked away.

* * *

Peyton on the other hand woke up ready to go to school. She couldn't wait to see Lucas. It killed her when Lucas had to leave yesterday with Brooke. She wanted him to stay with her, but Brooke said something about how much she missed him and how they needed to make up for not being together last night. Then she winked at him. It made him smile, but it made her sick to her stomach. She just hoped they didn't sleep together. She would have to ask him about that later when she saw him. She was going to make him forget about Brooke, although she knew that wouldn't be hard. It's not that she wanted to hurt her, it's just that she and Lucas belonged together. Brooke was just going to have to understand that. 

Peyton picked up her phone smiling and dialed the familiar number.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hi. Is Lucas home?"

"No, he already left. Is this Brooke?"

Peyton stopped."No, this is Peyton."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I just thought he was meeting her this morning to talk and was late or something."

"It's cool. I'll just see him at school. Thanks."

"Alright, bye."

"Bye."

She threw down her phone."So much for seeing him alone before school."said Peyton out loud with a sigh.

* * *

After putting her things away in her locker, Peyton walked up to Haley who was doing the same thing. 

She saw Peyton approach."Hey. What's up?"

"Have you seen Lucas? I've looked for him everywhere."

Haley just looked at her. She wasn't even trying to hide it. The first thing out of her mouth was have you seen Lucas. No hi, no nothing.

Peyton saw the way Haley was looking at her and quickly added."It's just that I needed to ask him a quick question before first period. We have it together."

"Oh, well no I haven't seen him, but I haven't seen Brooke yet either so I bet they are together somewhere making out."Haley knew she should stop, but she couldn't help herself. She was pissing her off. Peyton wasn't really doing anything to her, she was already in a bad mood.

Peyton frowned. She hoped they weren't off somewhere together kissing. She told him she wanted him to stay with Brooke, but now she wasn't so sure she could take it."Yeah, maybe."

"Well if I see him first I'll let him know your looking for him."

"Thanks."

"Oh my god P. Sawyer there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you."shouted Brooke as she ran up to the two.

"Well you found me. What's up Brooke? I've never seen you this hyper this early in the morning. What are you on and can I have some?"laughed Peyton.

Brooke laughed too and turned to Haley."Hey there Tutor Girl. It's good to see you. Now back to the reason I've been looking for you Blondie. You will never guess what happened yesterday."

Haley couldn't help but think, no Brooke you'll never guess what happened yesterday.

"You won a million dollars."answered Peyton.

"No, guess again."

"You were able to fit into some jeans you weren't able to before."cut in Haley.

Both girls just looked at her.

"What? Hey that happened to me not that long ago and I was just as happy as Brooke is right now."

Brooke laughed."As happy as that would make, this made me even happier. Anymore guesses?"

They both shook their heads.

"Fine, I guess I'll tell you. Lucas said he loved me last night."Brooke swooned. She'd never been this happy before.

Peyton's eyes widened in surprise. As did Haley's. He was only supposed to continue seeing Brooke. That's it. Not tell her he loved her. Even if it was a lie and she had no doubt in her mind that it was.

"Doesn't anybody have anything to say?"asked Brooke apprehensively.

"Wow. That's great Brooke. We're really happy for you and Lucas, aren't we Peyton?"asked Haley.

They both turned to look at her.

"Yeah, it's great, but can I ask you something Brooke?"

"Sure go ahead."

"Okay, well did he only say it because you said it first and he didn't want to hurt your feeling. Did he do it to be polite?"

"Peyton stop!"shouted Haley. She couldn't believe her.

"No, it's okay Haley. I know she's only asking to look out for me and no Peyton that's not why he said it. He was actually the first one to say it. I was so surprised I didn't know what to say. He said I didn't have to say it until I was ready, but that's how he felt and he wanted me to know. He was really great about it, but I was ready so I said it too. We had the most amazing sex afterward."

"Okay I'm happy for you and all, but that is way too much information. He's my best friend remember? I don't need to be picturing you two that way. Gross."

Brooke laughed."Sorry. I'm just so happy right now."

"That's good Brooke. You deserve it. Right Peyton?"asked Haley hoping she wouldn't say anything bad this time.

"Yeah, I'm happy for you."Peyton leaned forward and gave her a hug half heartedly. Just as she was pulling away she saw Lucas coming toward them. She couldn't help but give him an evil look.

Lucas caught that look, but approached them anyways. He rested his hands on Brooke's shoulders. She turned back and quickly gave him a kiss.

"Hey there Boyfriend. Did you miss me? I know you did."

"Actually I did. I went by your house this morning, but you were already gone. What were you in such a rush to get to school for?"

"Nothing really. I just had to talk to Peyton and Tutor Girl."

Lucas finally looked at Peyton. She looked so hurt.

"So I'm Tutor Girl again? Just a minute ago you called me Haley."

"Sorry I guess that was a slip up. It'll never happen again Tutor Girl. I promise."

"Very funny Brooke."

"I know."Brooke turned back to Lucas. So why'd you come over this morning other than you missed me?"

"I just wanted to see you and I thought we could talk."

"Oh, well can it wait or is it really important?"

"It's really important. I think we need to do it now."

"Okay, well we'll see you guys later I guess."

Brooke took Lucas' hand and led him outside."Okay well we're now alone. What is so important that we needed to talk about?"

Lucas pulled Brooke to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned in and stopped just as their lips were about to touch and whispered."It's nothing. I just wanted to tell you that I love you and that last night was amazing."

Brooke smiled and threw her arms around his neck and closed the remaining space between their lips. The kiss started off slowly, but soon turned passionate. Before Brooke knew it she was pressed up against the wall of the building. They were so into the kiss that they hadn't even heard the footsteps approaching.

"Will you two get a room? We're at school you know."

Brooke pulled herself away from Lucas as Nathan passed them by."Sorry Nate."laughed Brooke.

"Whatever."said Nathan as he walked through the door.

"Now where were we before the little brother from hell interrupted us?"asked Lucas as he leaned into her again.

She pushed him away laughing."We were where I definitely want to pick up later because he's right we are at school. We shouldn't be doing this."

"Come on Brooke. Do you see anyone else around?"

Brooke looked around. "No, but.."

"Then come here."Lucas grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her to him once again.

"Okay, fine, one more kiss, but then we have to get to class. We're gonna be late."

"I have study hall this period. I can skip it."said Lucas.

"Yeah, well I don't and I can't skip."

"Too bad for you. Your definitely gonna be late."Lucas smiled at her.

"I know."Brooke kissed him. She could never resist that smile. One kiss turned into a dozen and they were officially late.

Brooke again was the first one to break the kiss, but that didn't stop him he just started to kiss her neck."Come on Lucas stop. I really have to get to class."

Lucas stopped kissing her neck."Fine I'll stop for now, but your coming home with me after school."

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Now walk me to class Loverboy."

"Glady."Lucas grasped her hand and held it tight until they were standing in front of her classroom door.

"I am going to be in so much trouble. You know that right?"

"If you want, I could go in there with you and tell him the reason your late."

"And what exactly would you say to him?"

"Just that my girlfriend was looking so hot that I couldn't keep my hands off of her. He sees you everyday. I'm sure he'd agree with me."

"Don't you dare go in there and say that. I'm already in enough trouble. Just give me one more kiss and then leave."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

Brooke smiled and gave him a quick kiss and was about to pull away when Lucas pulled her into him deepening the kiss. After a couple of minutes he pulled away."Sorry, I just couldn't help myself."

"That's fine with me. I hope you can't help yourself with me later when we're alone at your house."

"I don't think we'll have a problem there."

Brooke smiled."Okay well I guess I'll see you later. Probably at lunch."

"Sure thing. I'll look for you."

"Bye."

"Bye."Lucas started to walk away, but stopped and turned around."Hey?"

"Yeah."Brooke turned in his direction.

"I love you."

Brooke felt like her heart was about to burst. This wasn't the first time he said it, but it was still new and it felt like the first time every time he said it."I love you too Lucas."She turned and walked into her classroom with a big smile on her face. She turned to her teacher."I'm sorry I'm late. My car wouldn't start."

"Save it Davis. You used that one last week. Just sit down."

Brooke took her seat next to Haley and smiled at her.

"You look happy."said Haley also smiling. It was like Brooke's happiness was contagious. When your around her you seem to brighten up with her.

"I am."

"So I saw that major PDA out in the hall a few minutes ago. You know I've never known Lucas to be into public displays of affection before."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Lucas never did before me."said Brooke with a smirk.

"Didn't we just have this conversation earlier? You really love over sharing don't you?"

"Sorry. It's just that I tell Peyton everything and I guess I'm starting to do that with you too, but I'll stop if you want me too."

"No it's okay. I take it as a compliment."

Brooke nodded.

"So I hope I'm not crossing any invisible friendship lines or anything, but I'm dieing to know what Lucas needed to talk to you about in private. I mean obviously it wasn't anything bad. You walked in here practically floating."To be honest she actually thought that Lucas was going to tell Brooke about Peyton when they ran off together, but when she showed up for class extra happy she knew that he hadn't and now she was curious.

"Your not crossing any lines so don't worry and no it wasn't bad at all. He just wanted to get me alone to tell me how much he loves me."squealed Brooke.

"Really? That's another first for him. Telling a girl he loves her."

"He's never told a girl he loved her before?"

"Not that I know of and I know him pretty well."

"Well good. That makes it more special. You know I don't have many firsts left if you know what I mean, but this is also a first for me and I'm glad we can share this first together. Wow, I'm the only girl he's ever said he loved and here I thought that he and Peyton had this wonderful connection that they couldn't get over. I'm glad I was wrong."Brooke couldn't keep herself from smiling.

Haley smiled back. She hoped for Brooke's sake that was true. Seeing Brooke this happy just reminded her she needed to talk to Lucas about Peyton. He needed to make a choice and she hoped it was Brooke. Never in a million years did she think she would hope for that, but here she was hoping for it. She had been wrong about Brooke and was glad to admit it. Brooke turned out to be the total opposite of what she originally thought of her. She thought she was a self centered spoiled brat who didn't care about anybody but herself, but she wasn't self centered and she always thought about others before herself. She had only known her for a little while but she could already see that. Although she was spoiled, but that could be over looked. Lucas really was a jerk for doing this to her and right after class she was going to tell him exactly that.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for the reviews. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. 

**Coming Up:**

Lucas talks to Peyton.

Haley tells Lucas exactly how she feels

about what he's doing.

Haley tells Lucas about Nathan.


	3. I Did Mean It

**Chapter Three**

_**I Did Mean It**_

Lucas walked down the hall with a huge smile on his face. Being with Brooke always put a smile on his face. He never realized how much he loved spending time with her until now.

He stopped when he reached the library door. He looked inside and saw the back of Peyton's head. He could never mistake her curls for anyone else's. This was the moment he'd been dreading all morning. In about five minutes he would be hurting a girl that not too long ago he thought he loved. He really did think it was love he felt for her, but that was until he realized that what he felt for Brooke was actually love. What he had felt for Peyton didn't compare to what he now felt for Brooke.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and slowly let it out before he opened the door and went in. This had to be done. He couldn't put it off any longer. He walked up to the couch where she was sitting and sat across from her on a small coffee table."Hey."

Peyton looked up."It's about time. I was starting to think you weren't coming."

"No. I knew I had to come. I had to see you."

Peyton smiled, happy to hear that, but then she remembered and her smile fell."As much as it makes me feel good that you felt like you had to see me I have to ask."

"Ask what?"

"What the hell were you doing telling Brooke you loved her last night and then to top it all off you slept with her. I thought we agreed that you would only stay with her for now and do all the making out stuff with me."

"I guess she told you about last night huh?"

"Yeah, you think? I'm really upset with you. Brooke's never had a real boyfriend before and no guy has ever told her he loved her either. So I think it really sucks that the first guy to say it to her was lying. You really shouldn't have done that."

"The thing is, I wasn't lying when I said it."

"What?"

" Look we need to talk."

"About?"

"This thing with us. I'm sorry, but I can't do it anymore. I can't be with Brooke and be with you at the same time. It's not right."

"Fine. Then break up with her."

"That's just it. I don't want to. Last night I realized something pretty amazing. I realized that I love Brooke."Lucas stopped when he heard Peyton's breath catch."Look I'm not telling you this to hurt you. That is the last thing I want to do, but I had to tell you how I feel. You needed to know that Brooke is the one I want to be with. What we did yesterday was a big mistake."Peyton scoffed."Again I'm not trying to hurt you. I know that you know what we did was wrong."

"Well I didn't hear you complaining yesterday in my car. In fact if I remember correctly and I know I do, you kept on saying how good it felt."

"I know and at the time I thought it did feel good, but that doesn't make it any less wrong. Yesterday I honestly thought that you were the one I wanted, but I was wrong. I feel really bad for being confused and having to hurt you in the process. I shouldn't have done anything until I was sure about how I felt."Lucas paused to see what if anything she would say. When nothing came he continued."I want you to know that I'm going to tell Brooke everything, but just not right now. I'm asking you to please not say anything to her now either. Please wait for me to do it."he begged.

"So your dumping me, but also asking me for a favor? Your unbelievable."

"Peyton I'm not dumping you. We were never together. We just made out."

Peyton's eyes widened in disbelief.

He caught the look on her face."I'm sorry that didn't come out right. I know what I said must have sounded awful. I didn't mean it. I really don't want to hurt you."Lucas was about to continue but was cut off.

"You know for somebody who keeps saying that they don't want to hurt me, you sure as hell are doing a pretty good job of doing exactly that."Peyton turned and walked away, but quickly stopped."Oh and about that little favor you asked me. Don't worry about it. She's my best friend. I don't want to lose her, especially over what'd you call it? Oh yeah, just making out. So I won't tell her at all. I hope you will also keep your mouth shut. She never has to know because it didn't mean anything right?"with that Peyton stormed out slamming the library door behind her causing everybody to look at the door and then at him.

He shrugged his shoulders and placed his head in his hands."That didn't go so well."he said aloud.

Lucas just sat on the couch thinking about everything until the bell rang signaling the end of class. He quickly got up and was about to leave when Haley ran in.

"Good I ran all the way over here hoping I'd catch you."she said out of breath.

"You were looking for me? Why?"

"Well you are my best friend."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"It's cool. That's not why I was looking for you though."

"Okay, well then why? What's going on?"

"I saw you yesterday."she blurted out.

Lucas' eyebrows furrowed."I don't know what your talking about."

"Your not seriously going to stand there and lie to me are you? I already cut one guy out of my life for lying. I don't have a problem doing it again."

"Who did you cut out of your life? Was it Nathan? What the hell did he lie to you about?"

"Yes it was Nathan, but we're getting off the subject here. We're talking about you and how much of a jerk you are."

"Haley just stop okay? I don't want to hear this right now."

"Well I'm sorry, but your gonna hear it. You have a wonderful, beautiful girlfriend who loves you. How could you do this to her? And on top of everything you had to go and tell her you loved her. That is a pretty shitty thing to do when you don't mean it."

It was Lucas' turn to raise his voice."Why the hell is it that everybody assumes I didn't mean it? Do you all think that I am that cold hearted that I could just say I love you to a girl that has been hurt by every guy she's been with? I did mean it. I wouldn't have said it otherwise."

"Yeah, well can you blame me for doubting you? Normally a guy who loves his girlfriend doesn't make out with her best friend in a parked car."

"That was a mistake."

"Well than end it!"shouted Haley as if it was the only obvious thing to do.

"I already did!"also shouted Lucas.

Just then a very old, white haired lady approached them."I'm sorry, but if the two of you don't keep it down I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Sorry."said both simultaneously.

The old lady nodded and walked off.

"So you ended things with Peyton?"said Haley lowering her voice.

"Yes."said Lucas matching her tone.

"And how did it go?"

"Not so good. She definitely didn't take it well."

"Well can you blame her? Just yesterday you were making out with her, undoubtedly telling her you wanted to be with her and then today she hears about you professing your love to Brooke. It has to hurt."

"Wait a second, a minute ago you were on Brooke's side and now you are on Peyton's. You need to make up your mind."

"No actually I'm not the one who needs to make up their mind. That's you. And I'm not on any side. You messing around on your girlfriend who loves you is just plain wrong, but Peyton taking you ending things badly is also understandable, seeing how close you two were yesterday. You really messed up here Lucas."

"I know that okay."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I don't know. I guess it was being with Peyton for all that time without Brooke around. I mean we spent the night together. It was just me and her and all those old feelings came back."

"Wait a second. You two didn't sleep together, did you?"

"No! I couldn't sleep with Peyton and then sleep with Brooke the same day. I'm not like that Haley."

"Oh I get it. You can make out with Peyton in a parked car and then later go and sleep with Brooke. Yeah, that's a lot better."said Haley sarcastically.

"Look I know it's really not any better. I honestly thought Peyton was the one I wanted to be with, but I was wrong. When I was lying on the bed with Brooke listening to her talk about her childhood with Peyton something clicked and I realized that I loved her and I couldn't stop the words from coming out. I had to tell her how I felt."

"And you couldn't realize this say, before you made out with her best friend and thought she was the one you wanted. Your messing with their lives Lucas."

"You don't think I know that? I do. I know this is a shitty thing to say, but I regret everything I did with Peyton."

"That is a pretty shitty thing to say. You do know that this is going to hurt their friendship immensely?"

"Maybe it doesn't have to. Brooke doesn't ever have to know."

Haley looked at him incredulously."And you say you love her."Haley scoffed."You have to tell her."

"I do love her, but it's going to hurt her if she finds out."

"Well it's going to hurt her even more if she finds out from someone other than you or Peyton."

"Nobody else knows, but you."

"I'm not going to say anything, but if I was able to walk up and see you two without you knowing. I'm sure somebody else could have too."

"I doubt that."

"Okay say your right. Your going to be able to be with her knowing that your lying to her face everyday. God your worse than Nathan."

"It's not that I don't want to tell her. It's just that Peyton asked me not to say anything. She doesn't want to lose her best friend."

"Well she wasn't thinking about losing her best friend when she was making out with her best friends boyfriend now was she?"

"Haley come on. It's not like that and you know it."

"I know. I'm sorry, but I happen to think that Brooke needs to know and if neither of you tell her it's going to blow up in your faces."

"I know, but I've hurt Peyton so much. How can I not do this one thing she asks me?"

"First of all, she shouldn't even have asked you that. She should have been the one to want to tell Brooke. Second of all, we're getting pretty repetitive. Do what your gonna do, but I'm telling you she should know."

"I know she should know Hales. I'm just confused right now. So now that we are done talking about this you want to tell me what's going on with you and Nathan?"

"No."

"Come on Hales you know everything about my horrible situation right now."

"Well it's not my problem you weren't able to keep it a secret."

"I know, but still. What's going on?"

"Nothing. I just found out that you were right all along."

"Right about what?"

"Nathan."

"I got that part, but can you be a little more specific. Please."

"Fine. Last night Nathan let it slip that the only reason he started seeing me was to get at you."

"He actually said it out loud? And to you of all people?"

"Yeah, and he didn't seem to think anything was wrong with it. He expected me to be okay with it."

"I'm sorry Hales."

"I swore to you that you were wrong about him, but in all actuality I was the stupid one that was wrong."

"Your not stupid Haley. Not even close. You just cared about him too much to see the truth."

"You could be such a jerk right now and say I told you so."

"I'm not like that you know that and I wish I hadn't been right about this. I can see how this is hurting you. If I could, I'd take away all your pain."

"I know you would and I love you for it, but this is the reason you need to tell Brooke. If later on she realizes that your whole relationship was based on a lie, she's going to be just as hurt as I am. Hell she's gonna be worse, you actually love each other."

"Haley, I know you love him. You don't have to deny it with me."

"You can tell?"

"Yes, I know you as well as I know myself."

"I keep forgetting that."

"Everything is going to be okay. We'll get through all of this together."

"Thanks, Lucas."

"You bet."

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for the reviews. They were great. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope I'm not making Peyton too awful. It's just hard for me to write her because I couldn't stand her at this time last season, but I'm going to try and do better. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. 

**Coming Up:**

Brooke talks to Peyton.

Brooke hits the nail right on the head.

Brooke leaves lunch early.


	4. What The Hell Is His Problem?

**Chapter Four**

_**What The Hell Is His Problem?**_

Brooke was on her way to meet Lucas for lunch when she saw Peyton walking up ahead of her."Hey P. Sawyer! Where you headed?"

Peyton stopped walking and waited for Brooke to catch up to her."I'm going to the library. I have some things I need to finish."

"But it's lunch time!"said Brooke as if missing lunch was a crime.

"Yeah, so that doesn't mean I don't still have work to finish."

"Since when do you skip lunch to do homework?"

"Since now I guess."

"Not a good enough answer. Besides didn't you have study hall with my boy toy first period? Don't tell me he distracted you all period all and didn't let you get anything done."Brooke laughed.

"No, I didn't even see Lucas at all actually."

"Oh, well that's weird. He should have been there."

"Well I'm sure he was, I just had some things to do and didn't stay in the library long."

"Oh, and here I was hoping you'd keep an eye on him for me."

"Sorry Brooke."

"Yeah you should be. Where are you when I need you?"Brooke let out another laugh.

"Well, I'm sorry, but not everything revolves around you and Lucas, Brooke."

Brooke stopped laughing."What the hell is wrong with you? I was just kidding you know."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Are you okay?"Brooke placed a hand on her friend's shoulder wanting to know what was going on.

"I'm fine Brooke."she saw the look of concern etched on her friends face and added."Really I am."

"Is this about your dad?"

"What about him. He's fine."

"I know, but we easily could have lost him."

"We?"

"Yes we. You know I loved him just as much as I loved your mom. Their the only parents I've ever really known."

"I know. I guess almost losing my dad is getting to me more than I realized. I think that's probably why I snapped at you. I'm sorry."lied Peyton, not only to Brooke, but to herself as well. She didn't want to admit that she was jealous of Brooke and Lucas' new real relationship.

"It's okay. I should have been a better friend to you."

"Brooke stop it. Your the best friend I've got. Now I don't want to talk about this anymore. Lets talk about your favorite subject. You."That comment received a playful hit to her shoulder."What? Don't act like it's not true. You love talking about yourself."

"Yeah, so?"

"So nothing. How are you and Lucas doing?" As much as she didn't want to hear about how much Lucas loved her, she still found herself needing to know. It made her somehow feel closer to Lucas. As strange as that sounded it was true.

Brooke's long face suddenly lit up when she heard Lucas' name. That's something she always loved about Brooke. She could go from deadly serious to giddy in 2.5 seconds flat.

"Are you sure you want to hear about us Peyt? It's kind of mushy."

"Did Brooke Davis just say her life is mushy?"said Peyton widening her eyes and placing a hand over her heart.

"Shut up."

Peyton laughed."No seriously though, are you guys really okay?"

"Peyt we are better than okay. He is wonderful. Last night I totally fell apart in front of him. We talked about the past and your mom and I couldn't help it. I started to cry. I told him something I never told anyone else."Brooke stopped and saw the surprised expression on Peyton's face."I know your dieing to know what I said right?"Peyton nodded." It's nothing really. I just told him that after your mom died I promised myself that I would never let anyone or anything hurt you again."

Peyton blinked away the tears that threatened to fall."You really did that for me?"

"Of course. You were my best friend Peyt and I hated seeing you cry all the time."

"Brooke we were only nine."

"So that didn't mean I didn't love you. I was capable of love at that age."

Peyton laughed."God I don't deserve you as my best friend."

"What is with you guys all thinking you don't deserve me? I'm nothing special. I'm just me."

"And that's more than enough Brooke. So I take it Lucas said the same thing to you."

"Yeah, he said that I was beautiful and amazing and he didn't deserve me. I told him he was crazy, just like I'm telling you now."

"How did he tell you he loved you?"asked Peyton totally changing the subject. She had to know, even if it was going to kill her hearing it.

Brooke's smile widened."We were lying down talking and then he turned away and got really quiet. I had to call his name a couple of times before he answered. He told me he was thinking and I asked him about what. He said me. I asked him what about me and he said how wonderful I am and how much he didn't deserve me and than he started to say something, but stopped. I asked him to continue what he was about to say and he pulled me up and grabbed my hands and held them."Brooke stopped and closed her eyes. She smiled as she replayed it all again in her head."And then he said he was thinking about how much he loved me."Brooke exhaled remembering how she felt last night.

Peyton saw how happy her best friend was and it hurt her. She wanted to be happy for her, she really did, but she was the reason she couldn't be happy. Lucas wanted to be with Brooke and not her. She hated herself for thinking this way, but she couldn't help it. She loved Lucas too. So she did the only thing she could. She lied to her best friend."Wow Brooke that sounds amazing. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks. I've never felt this way about anybody before and it's scary."

"Don't be scared. Your a wonderful person and you deserve a wonderful person to love you back and that's Lucas. He is wonderful." said Peyton and this wasn't a lie. Brooke was wonderful and she did deserve a wonderful person. She just wished it didn't have to be her wonderful Lucas.

"Thanks, Peyt and don't worry your gonna find your Mr. Wonderful too. And I think I already know who he is. He goes by the name Jake Jagelski."

"Brooke stop. Don't you dare get any crazy ideas. We're just friends."

"For now, but I've seen the way he looks at you and I've caught you looking too. Don't try to deny it."

"Brooke like I said we're just friends."

"And like I said, for now."Brooke let out a laugh."Now lets go get some lunch bestest friend. I'm hungry."

They started to walk off when Nathan rushed past them without acknowledging their presence.

Brooke turned and called after him."Natey Boy, where's the raging party and why weren't we invited?"

"Shut up Brooke."said Nathan as he turned the corner, not once looking in their direction.

"What the hell is his problem?"asked Brooke looking at Peyton who in return just shrugged.

* * *

Brooke and Peyton finished their way to the cafeteria and got their lunches and went outside to find a table. Brooke saw Lucas sitting with Haley not too far away and nudged Peyton, signaling her to follow. 

Peyton saw where she was headed and wondered why she was surprised. Of course she wanted to eat lunch with her boyfriend. Peyton followed dreading every moment.

Brooke sat down next to Lucas and gave him a quick kiss.

Peyton sat next to Haley and couldn't help, but turn away when she saw Brooke lean in to kiss Lucas.

Haley caught the hurt expression and felt a little bad for her, but Brooke wasn't doing anything wrong. She was just kissing her boyfriend.

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for you."said Lucas looking at Brooke.

"I'm sorry. I was talking to Peyton and we lost track of time."Brooke turned to Haley."So Tutor Girl, I see your eating with us today. I can't say I blame you. What's wrong with your boyfriend? He practically bit my head off a minute ago and all I did was ask him where he was going."Brooke stopped to let Haley answer, but instead she saw her face fall and saw Lucas look at her with concern."Okay what's going on? Did I miss something?"

Lucas decided to answer for Haley."Brooke stop. It's not a good time."Haley cut him off.

"It's okay. They are going to find out sooner or later. We broke up yesterday."

Brooke gasped."Oh my god. That's the last thing I thought would happen. Hell I thought that before the end of the school year you two would be married. What happened? Oh, wait I'm prying aren't I? This is probably personal right? I'm gonna shut up now."

Haley laughed in spite of the situation."Didn't I ask you a personal question this morning I didn't think you would answer?"

"Yes you did. So go ahead and spill."

"I found out he's practically been lying to me from the beginning. The only reason he started talking to me was to get back at Lucas for joining the basketball team. Our whole relationship has been a lie."

"Oh come on Haley, that's not true."said Brooke."Just because that's how it started doesn't mean it's still about that."

"That's what he said."said Haley looking down picking at her food.

"Then listen to him. If you love him and I know you do, you need to forgive him for this or you'll regret it."

Lucas looked up at her and placed his hand on her and gave it a squeeze. She was amazing and she was giving Haley some great advice.

Even if he wanted Haley to stay away from Nathan, what she was saying was true. Hearing her say that if she loved him, she should forgive him or she'd regret it made him think that she would probably follow her own advice. He was going to tell her about Peyton today.

"Brooke I know your trying to help and all, but would you be able to forgive Lucas if he lied to you and betrayed your trust?"

Lucas' head shot up and went to look at Haley and then to Peyton before landing on Brooke. As much as he hated that Haley put him in this situation, he needed to hear what her answer was.

Brooke looked at Lucas and then smiled."Although I don't think that Lucas would ever lie to me, I'd like to think we'd get past it. That if Lucas ever did lie to me I'd be able to forgive him."

Lucas smiled back at her, happy with her response, but Brooke continued.

"Just as long as he didn't do anything like cheat on me with my best friend."said Brooke with a laugh.

Lucas' face fell and he couldn't help, but look at Peyton. He quickly pulled his gaze away from her hoping Brooke wouldn't catch him. If only she knew he did exactly that, she wouldn't be laughing.

Brooke rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist, showing him she was only kidding. She knew he would never do that to her.

Lucas put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead, not knowing what else to do.

Brooke quickly pulled away from him and stood up."I hate to eat and run, but I just remembered I have to do something."

"Do you want me to go with you?"asked Lucas also getting up.

Brooke pushed him back down."No stay here and finish eating. I'll just see you later okay?"

"If your sure."

"I am."Brooke leaned down and kissed him.

He pulled her head down further into him deepening the kiss, not wanting to let her go, but finally did when she pushed him away.

"Lucas that was a great kiss and all, but there are people around. Save it for later."she said laughing."I'll see you later. Bye you two."Brooke waved at Peyton and Haley and then turned and walked away.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think. Read and review. 

**Coming Up:**

Haley gives Lucas and Peyton a peace of her mind.

Lucas comforts Peyton.

Where did Brooke run off to?


	5. I Had A Pretty Good Coach

**A/N:**This chapter picks up right where the last one ended.

**Chapter Five**

_**I Had A Pretty Good Coach**_

Lucas looked after Brooke long after she had disappeared. He finally turned back to the table to see Haley staring at him.

"You two have to tell her. I don't care if you are afraid of how she will react. She deserves to know. This is just sad."

Peyton looked at Haley with a confused expression plastered on her face."I don't know what you are talking about."

"Peyton don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Lucas took this as his cue to join in the conversation."She knows Peyton."

Peyton turned to glare at him."You told her? How could you?"she shouted as she stood up.

Haley pushed her back down."Sit your ass down, your causing a scene. He didn't say anything to me, I saw you two at the Rivercourt the other day."

Peyton looked down.

"Yeah you should feel bad. Both of you should. What you did was unforgivable."

She was cut off by Lucas."We know that and that's why we can't let her find out. She will never forgive us."

"So that makes it alright? Keeping this secret and lying to her everyday. You both will be able to live with yourselves if you do that?"

"Yes, if it means that I will keep Brooke as my best friend then yes I can live with myself."

Haley shook her head."You are unbelievable."she turned to Lucas."What about you? Could you live with yourself if you did that?"

"I don't want to lose her."his response was barely above a whisper.

Haley knew she shouldn't be yelling at him like this. This was really eating him up inside, but she couldn't help it. She felt bad for Brooke. She had been a great friend to her in this short amount of time. Especially today, giving her advise on what to do with Nathan. She also said she was starting to confide in her as she did Peyton and how was she repaying her friendship? She was keeping something from her. She hated keeping this secret from her. This wasn't like her. She hated Lucas for putting her in this position. She lowered her voice as not to yell anymore."Well Lucas, you should have thought about that before you cheated on her with her best friend."

"You don't think I know that. I already told you it was all a mistake. That if I could, I would take it all back."

Hearing those words stung. She was Lucas' mistake. He wished she had never happened. She never though he would ever say those words about her. He didn't even care that he was hurting her by what he was saying. All he cared about was not wanting to hurt Brooke. His precious Brooke. She hated feeling like this toward Brooke, but she hated feeling like nothing to Lucas even more. She quickly blinked away a few tears not wanting them to fall.

Lucas caught sight of how hurt Peyton looked. He had completely forgotten she was there after Haley started yelling at him. If he had remembered he never would have said those things in front of her."Oh, I'm sorry Peyton. I shouldn't have said all that. I didn't mean it the way it sounded."

"Yes you did, but don't worry, I'm not going to fall apart because you don't want me. I agree with you. It was all a mistake and I'd take it all back too if I could."saying those words were like sticking a knife in her heart. She didn't mean any of it. She was only saying it to make him happy because she loved him and if he would right now change his mind and say he wanted her she would jump at the chance to be with him. No matter who she hurt in the process. She knew that was wrong, but she didn't care. She honestly loved him.

"I'm glad you feel the same way."said Lucas with a slight smile.

Peyton nodded."Sure. Look Haley, Brooke can't know. If the only way to keep her in our lives is to keep this from her then we're gonna do it. We love her too much to risk her hating us and I'm sorry if you don't like the decision we've made, but it's our decision to make, not yours."

Haley just looked at her. This girl was getting on her nerves. She just chocked it up to not wanting to lose Brooke and let it go."So you two are seriously sitting there telling me that you are going to lie to her face everyday. How can you do that?"

"We have to Hales. You heard her. She won't forgive me if she finds out I was with Peyton. I can't let that happen. I love her too much."

"There's nothing I can say to change your minds?"pleaded Haley.

They both shook their heads.

"Fine, whatever. Do what your gonna do, but I'm telling you she's gonna find out anyways. They always do and then it will be too late."

"Your the only one who knows and your Lucas' best friend. You wouldn't do that to him. At least you shouldn't."

Haley shook her head. This girl just didn't know when to quit. She couldn't hold it in any longer."That's right because unlike you I don't do thing to hurt my best friend. I don't profess to love my best friend and then the first chance I get stab him in the back. That's all you Peyton."Peyton just stared at her not knowing what to say." Now I'm done, why don't you two do other things you don't mind keeping from Brooke. I'm out of here."Haley stood up and walked away from the two, upset that they were being so selfish. They didn't want Brooke to hate them and she understood that, but they were gonna keep something from her that she really needed to know.

Peyton looked back to Lucas."She's not gonna tell Brooke right? I mean she wouldn't do that to you right?"Peyton practically pleaded with him to give her the answer she desperately wanted to hear. If she couldn't have Lucas, she didn't want to also lose Brooke. She just couldn't be left all alone.

"Hey, don't worry. If Haley said she won't say anything, then she won't. At least for now. I don't know how long she will be able to keep this from Brooke though. The past couple of days they've gotten really close and keeping a secret from a friend she cares about is going against everything she is. I bet she really hates me right now for putting her in this situation."

"I can't lose Brooke, Lucas. If she finds out she will never speak to either of us again."

Lucas took her hand that was on the table in his own."Don't worry, we won't lose her. I couldn't take it either."Lucas gave her a small smile.

Peyton was happy to be holding his hand, but then he spoke and ruined it. He had to talk about how much he needed Brooke. She knew he was only trying to reassure her because of what she just said, but it still hurt. She loved Brooke, but at the same time she couldn't stand her because she was the one Lucas wanted.

* * *

Brooke walked in silence and stopped when she reached her destination. She pulled open the door and walked in."Hey Loser! What are you doing?" 

He looked around the gym before he turned and looked at her."Are you talking to me?"

"Well do you see any other losers standing around?"said Brooke placing her hands on her hips.

"Very funny Brooke. What do you want?"

"You know your still very predictable."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just that I knew exactly where you would be. You always used to come here during lunch when you and Peyton would have a fight."

"Then you'd come in here and try to fix everything for the both of us."

"That I did Natey Boy."

"We were really close back then, weren't we?"

"Yes we were."

"What happened?"

"I don't know, you started letting everything your dad said get to you and you became hard to be around. Then Lucas came into the picture and you became unbareable."

"Thanks."said Nathan rolling his eyes.

"Your welcome."

"Well what did you expect? He took my position and he wanted my girl."

"He doesn't want Peyton."

"Maybe not now, but he did. I hated the guy. Hell, I still do."

"So you decided to use Haley to get back at him?"

"That bastard told you, didn't he? Doesn't he know how to keep his mouth shut. This isn't any of his business."

"Yes he does and he's not the one who told me. Haley did."

"She did?"asked Nathan a little surprised.

"Yes she did. We are friends now you know... well kinda... we're getting there."

"Well that's good. Haley doesn't have many friends and your a great one to have. So what else did she tell you?"

"Just that. That you used her to get back at Lucas and then you two broke up. Why? Is there more?"

"No, that's pretty much it. So what are you doing here? Are you going to try and fix everything like you used to?"

"Well I actually came her to do this."said Brooke as she walked up to him and slapped him on the back of his head.

"Jesus Brooke! What the hell was that for? That really hurt."

"That was for telling me to shut up earlier. You better never do that again."

Nathan raised his hands in defeat."If that's what I have to look forward to if I do it again, then you don't have to worry, it won't happen."

Brooke smiled."Good that's what I wanted to hear, but seriously Nate, using Haley? What the hell were you thinking? It's one thing to use her and I'm not saying it's right or that I even like it, but it's another thing to tell her you used her. What was that about?"

"It just slipped out. I didn't even know what I said until it was too late."

"Obviously you really are that dumb."

"Brooke, I already feel like crap, so if your here to insult me you can just leave."Nathan turned away from her and back to the net where he shot his ball which went in perfectly.

"Don't you ever get tired of this place?"asked Brooke changing the subject as she grabbed the ball out of his hands after he ran to get it."I mean your in this gym everyday. Why would you come here in your free time to play a game you always play. You should be with your friends somewhere having fun. Your gonna have to be here after school for practice anyways. What is it about this place that you love so much?"Brooke positioned herself in the middle and shot her ball. It too went in perfectly. She turned around and jumped up and down squealing.

Nathan couldn't help but laugh at her."I see you haven't lost your touch. Your still pretty good."

"Well I did have a pretty good coach, who taught me everything I know."

Nathan's face grew serious."He was just pretty good?"

Brooke couldn't help but laugh. Here she thought she was giving him a compliment and he took it as an insult. She decided to play along."Yes, he was just pretty good. I've had better."

"Oh, yeah?"asked Nathan as he began to chase her around the gym.

After a while Brooke stopped, holding up her hands."Okay, okay. I give. Your the best coach there is. There is no just being pretty good with you. Your awesome."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."laughed Nathan.

"Hey, don't get too cocky. I only conceded because I'm wearing heels. If I had on my sneakers there is no way I would have given in. You would still be just pretty good."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say B."

Brooke stopped smiling."Wow, you haven't called me that in forever."

"I know, but I figured it was time it made a come back. Don't you think?"

Brooke smiled once again."I sure do, but only if I can start calling you Nate again. Nathan is just too long."

Nathan laughed."You know, your the only one besides my mom to call me that."

"Good then it's our little thing."

"It sure is B."Nathan took another shot.

Brooke took the ball Nathan offered her and took her second shot and it again went in."Yep, my coach was definitely better than just pretty good."

Nathan laughed again. He couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed this much. It had been a long time ago and it had been with Brooke. He realized at that moment how much he missed her. She always had this affect on him. He was always happy when she was around. He wondered why he ever let them grow apart. Things just got in the way. Life, just got in the way.

"Hey Nate? It's your turn. Nate?"

Nathan looked up."Sorry... I was just thinking."

"Okay, what is it about me that you guys find so boring that you'd rather think than be with me in the flesh? I mean just yesterday Lucas and I were having a conversation and he totally spaced out on me and then today I'm with you and you do the same thing. Am I that boring to be around that you have more fun being inside your head?"

"Being inside my head? What the hell does that mean?"

"Come on, you know what I mean?"

"Yes, I do and come on Brooke you know your not boring. You may be a lot of things, but boring will never be one of them."Brooke smiled."You just give me a lot to think about."

"So does that mean you were thinking about me?"asked Brooke arching her eyebrows.

"As a matter of fact I was thinking about you."

"Really? I was just kidding before."

"Well I'm not."

"Well then what exactly were you thinking?"

Nathan stepped closer to her and leaned his head down by her ear and whispered."Wouldn't you like to know."he pulled away and began to laugh.

Brooke punched him in the shoulder."You really are an ass. You know that?"

"You really are pretty strong for being so little. Stop hitting me! It hurts."

Brooke laughed."Oh poor, big, bad, Natey Boy is getting beat up by little Brookie."

"Your not funny."laughed Nathan.

"Oh yeah, then why are you laughing?"

Nathan stopped."I'm not."

"Whatever."smiled Brooke.

Nathan got serious."You know B, I've really missed you."he turned away not wanting her to see how sentimental he was getting. He was supposed to be a man, he wasn't supposed to let his vulnerable side show.

Brooke smiled seeing him turn away. She knew what he was doing. She decided against teasing him."I missed you too Nate."she knew he was always uncomfortable sharing his feelings so she quickly threw him the ball and it hit him hard in the chest."It's your turn again."

"What did I tell you about hurting me? You really under estimate your strength Davis?"and just like that the seriousness was gone, but the feelings were understood.

Brooke laughed."Quit being such a wimp Scott."

"No, you need to quit being such a bully."

"Little bitty me, a bully? I think not."

"Say that to me tomorrow when I'm covered in bruises after spending only thirty minutes with you."

The conversation slowly dwindled and they continued to take turns shooting baskets in silence until Nathan spoke up."So you and Lucas huh?"

"Yep, me and Lucas."smiled Brooke.

"How are things going?"

"They're great actually. He told me he loved me for the first time last night."

"Wow. Really? Did you say it back?"Nathan found himself wanting to hear her say no. Not because he liked her or wanted to be with her, but because it seemed that everyone around him worshiped Lucas. They always thought he could do no wrong and it was getting to him. He always felt inferior when he was with Haley because he thought she was comparing him to the elusive Lucas and now one of his best friends was dating him. What's next? His dad was gonna move him into his room?

"What do you think? Of course I said it back. I love him."

"Okay, well that's good for you and all, but I happen to hate the guy so can we not talk about how much you love him?"

"Hey, your the one who asked about him not me. I wasn't even thinking about bringing him up."

"Your right. It was clearly a moment of insanity."

Brooke looked up at him."Okay well lunch is long over and we're already late for our next class. We've gotten reacquainted, joked around, played ball, I've beaten you up, and we've even talked about Lucas."

"What's your point?"

"I was getting to that you smart ass. Are we gonna get to the part where I try to fix things?"

Nathan frowned."There's nothing to fix B."

"I hear what your saying, really I do, but I know it's not the truth."

"Brooke just leave it alone."

"I can't. You two are like the perfect couple. I mean besides me and Lucas. You two have to get back together."

"You don't think I want that Brooke? Because I do, but she hates me right now."

"She doesn't hate you Nate. She's just angry right now. She'll get over it."

"I'm not so sure she will."

"Look you may have a few jerk like tendencies, but your not a full fledge jerk. I know that just because you started off using her it doesn't mean you still are."

"I'm not. It hasn't been about that for a really long time now."

"I know and that's what I told her."

"What you already stuck up for me? Even after I told you to shut up?"

"Yes, but only because I knew I was going to hit you the next time I saw you."Brooke laughed when she saw Nathan rub the back of his head where she hit him."And I did so that's that and I know it will be the last time too. Anyways I told her she needed to forgive you. I also told her if she didn't she'd probably regret it. I just hope that after she calms down she takes my advice.

"Thanks B, you really are the best."

"Hey don't thank me yet. She hasn't forgiven you. Since I gave her some advice on you, I'm now gonna give you some on her. Although I don't really know her, I know girls in general. She's hurt, she feels betrayed because she feels that all you've done is lie to her. She's gonna push you away. She's gonna try and ignore you, but you have to be persistent. You have to show her that you care and that you really are sorry and want to make it up to her. Do little things to make her feel special. Let her know that you will always be there for her even if she doesn't want you to be at the time."

"Do you really think those thing will work?"

"Well they can't hurt can they?"

"I guess not. Thanks B, you really are helping me fix this like old times."Nathan leaned in and wrapped her in a tight hug, kissing her forehead.

The door opened and in walked someone."Hey, hey, what's going on in here? You two are looking pretty cozy. Am I gonna have to go find Lucas and Haley and tell them what I just witnessed?"

"Well if it isn't Jake, trying to stir up trouble. This isn't like you and it wasn't what it looked like. Nate's having girl problems and I was trying to help him out."said Brooke matter of factly.

"Yeah, it looks like you were helping him out, alright."

"Jake shut up. I happen to love Lucas."

"Oh come on man, what did I say about hearing that Brooke?"cut in Nathan.

"Sorry."

"I bet you are."

"Anyways, I should be going. I am definitely late for class. Which reminds me. Why are you here and not in class yourself?"she asked Jake.

"I have study hall this period and was caught up on my work so I decided to come down hear and shoot some hoops. I just didn't know that I'd come and find you two making out in the middle of the court."laughed Jake.

"We weren't making out, he was just thanking me."

"Is that what you kids are calling it these days?"

"Shut up Jake. I'm gonna get going, but before I go I need to ask you something Jake."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Well what do you think about Peyton?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you? Do you like her?"

"She's alright. Why? Does she like me?"

"Yeah. I think so. So if I can arrange it, will you go out with her? Just once to see if you two like it. Her last boyfriend completely sucked."

"Hey! I'm standing right here."shouted Nathan.

Brooke turned to him."It's not like you don't already know you were a horrible boyfriend to her Nate. Anyways."Brooke turned back to Jake."Will you?"

"I'm game if she is. I mean she's not bad to look at."

"What a gentleman you are."kidded Brooke."Well thanks Jake, I'll get back with you and I'll even baby sit for you so you can go."

"Thanks Brooke. I might have to take you up on that."

"Sure thing, and you."she said pointing to Nathan."I'll talk to you later. Bye guys." Brooke walked off with her mind racing. Now she just needed to get Peyton to agree. She knew that was going to be harder than it was with Jake. It would be okay, she'd find away. She always did. Brooke walked to class already forming a plan.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews especially** Brucasfanatic**. I really look forward to your reviews. I'm glad you sorta see where Peyton's coming from, but still like you said she could control if she acts on her feelings. I also like the deeper side of Brooke and I want to show that more along with her bitchy side of course and we will see both when she finally finds out about Leyton. Also thanks to **Ali213**, I'm glad your reading and liking my story, you know how much I loved yours, and to **Mony19**, there will be a lot more Brooke and Nathan in this story, but I'm not sure it will be anything more than just a friendship. **Crazy** and **kinGsFaN** your reviews were also great. Thanks to all of you and everybody else who has reviewed. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's a little longer than I expected, but I really love writing Brooke and Nathan and the words just kept coming to me. Please let me know what you think. Read and review. Thanks! 

**Coming Up:**

Brucas have some alone time.

Keith gives Brooke a hard time.

Lucas has a surprise visitor.


	6. Surprise Visitor

**A/N:**This chapter needs a little **"R"** rating. It's nothing major. I just thought I should put up this warning. Thanks.

**Chapter Six**

_**Surprise Visitor**_

Brooke walked into the kitchen after Lucas shutting the door behind her."Are you sure your uncle won't be back for a while? I mean we could have just gone back to my house."

"Yes I'm sure. He won't be here until 7:00 for my mom's call. She's calling tonight remember? That's why we had to come over here."

"Right, sorry. I forgot."

Lucas walked to the refrigerator and opened the door."Want anything to drink?"

"Sure."said Brooke as she hopped onto the kitchen counter.

Lucas pulled out two bottles of water and handed her one."So you never told me where you ran off to earlier at lunch."

Brooke swallowed her water and screwed the cap back on before answering."I just went to talk to a friend that's all."

"A friend? Do I know this friend?"

"Yes you do. It was Nathan. I went to talk to him."

"Why?"asked Lucas in disbelief.

"Why not? He's my friend and I thought he might need someone to talk to."

"You two are friends? Brooke, I haven't seen you say two words to him since we met."

"So that doesn't mean anything, we're still friends. I just wanted to be there if he wanted to talk."

"And did he talk to you?"

Brooke nodded."We actually had a very long conversation."

"Did you two talk about Haley?"

"Yes we did, but don't even think about asking me what was said. That's between me and Nate."

"Nate? Since when do you call him Nate? You know what I don't even care. I also don't care about what was said as long as he stays away from Haley."

"And why should he do that again?"

"Because he used her and lied to her. He's no good for her and I hope he stays the hell away."

"God Lucas lay off of him. Haven't you ever done anything you weren't proud of and wished with all of your heart you could take it back? I know I have."

Lucas looked at her and thought about Peyton."I have too."

"You see. Than you should understand."

"No, what I understand is that I have learned from my mistakes and won't do them again, but I don't think Nathan has learned anything."

"How can you say that? You don't even know him Lucas."Brooke was getting frustrated with him. He was being so stubborn."Look, I don't want to fight with you, or whatever this is. I don't want to do it"

"I don't either."Lucas sighed."Lets just forget about Nathan and focus on us."

"And how would we go about doing that?"

"Well I thought we could start by doing this."said Lucas as he stood in front of her and placed himself between her knees and started to kiss her neck.

"Ooh, I like that. What else did you have in mind?"said Brooke as she placed her arms around his neck.

He slowly pulled away from her leaving her arms resting on his shoulders. He lifted his hands to unzip her hoodie lightly grazing her left breast and threw it on the floor, which left Brooke in a tight black tank top. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her to the edge.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and he picked her up and carried her to his room kicking the door shut.

He placed her down on his bed before taking his position on top of her.

Brooke wrapped her arms around his neck bringing him down closer to her. She couldn't get enough of him. She knew she never would.

Lucas slid his tongue along her bottom lip and used it to part her lips, deepening the kiss, tasting every inch of her mouth. He massaged her tongue with his. He began to caress her body moving his hands up and down her body.

Brooke moaned into his mouth. Having him touch her was like heaven. She had never wanted anyone as much as she wanted him at that moment. She removed one arm from around she neck and trailed it along his chest and own to the hem of his shirt. They broke their kiss as she slowly lifted his shirt.

He began to kiss her neck, focusing on one spot kissing her hard, knowing he'd be leaving a mark. His mark. His hand found the edge of her shirt and slowly slid under caressing her bare skin, inching his way up. His hand found what he was looking for and lovingly grasped it causing Brooke to let out another moan, this time much louder.

Nobody had ever touched her the way he had, he was always gentle with her. She needed him. Her hands found the rim of his pants and she quickly undid the buttons pushing them down until they hit the floor. She ran her hands up and down his bare back pulling him down further into her, needing to feel this body against her.

Lucas looked down at her."Why is it that I'm her almost completely naked and you still have all of your clothes on?"

Brooke smiled."That's because unlike you, I know what I want and I get it."

"That's not true. I know exactly what I want and it's you."he quickly undressed her and returned to his position over her."I love you. I don't want you to ever doubt that."

"I won't. I promise."She lifted her head and captured his lips once more.

* * *

Lucas awoke to find Brooke lightly tracing circles on his chest. When she saw his eyes flutter open, she couldn't help, but smile at him."Hi." 

"Hey. Did I fall asleep?"

"You sure did. I think somebody wore you out."

"It appears so. So how long have you been awake?"

"I never went to sleep."

"Then why didn't you wake me up?"

"I wanted to watch you sleep. You look so adorable."

"I bet I do."said Lucas sarcastically.

"You do, but as much fun as it is lying here in bed with you we need to get dressed, your uncle will be here soon."

"Shit. I totally forgot. What time is it?"

"6:30. He should be here any minute so get your cute butt up and get dressed."

"What about you?"

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'll get dressed right after I watch you."

Lucas pulled her to him."How about we not get dressed and stay here in bed all night. That way somebody can ware me out again."

Brooke laughed."You know that's a really tempting offer, but maybe we should call Keith and get his opinion on it."

"Thanks, babe. Way to ruin the moment."

"Sorry I'll make it up to you later."Brooke kissed him before she got up and started to get dressed."Have you seen my shirt?"

"It's right here."Lucas picked it up and tossed it to her.

"Thanks Broody. Oh! I just remembered I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"said Lucas pulling on his shirt.

"Well what do you think about Peyton and Jake?"

"What do you mean?"

"Wouldn't they make the cutest couple?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Because I'm trying to fix them up."

"Your what?"

"Yeah, Peyton has been by herself for long enough. She needs to have some fun and Jake seems like a really great guy. She totally loves Jenny too, but then again who doesn't? She's adorable. So anyways I think we should plan the perfect date for them."

"We? No, Brooke I don't want any part in this. If you want to do this, then your gonna have to do it by yourself. I'm not going to do anything to upset them."

"Upset them? Lucas what are you talking about? Jake is totally for this."

"He is?"asked Lucas shocked.

"Yes he is. So I just need to convince Peyt and everything is set."

"I doubt Peyton will agree to this. You know her."

"Quit being such a downer."

"I'm not, Brooke it's just that..."he looked at her."Fine how do you want me to help?"

Brooke jumped up and down excitedly."I knew you couldn't tell me no."she said with a smile.

"It's a weakness I know, but look at you, who would be able to say no to you?"

Brooke walked up to him and placed her arms around his neck."Nobody."she lowered her lips to his.

Lucas rested his hands on her hips as he continued the kiss.

"Luke, I'm home. Are you here?"shouted Keith from the other room.

Brooke pulled away."It's a good thing we're dressed."she followed him to the kitchen where they saw him examining the contains of the refrigerator.

"It's about time you got here. We've been waiting for you."said Lucas.

"We've?"asked Keith looking up and closing the door.

"Hi uncle Kieth."

"Brooke, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah, I know, but I wanted to spend some time with Lucas and he said he had to be home for his mom's call so I just tagged along. I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all. I don't mind you spending time with him as long as he doesn't turn up drunk and with a tattoo."

Brooke looked down."Right, about that, I'm really sorry."

"I personally don't have a problem with it, but I'm pretty sure his mom does. What's that?"asked Keith as he bent down and picked up her hoodie.

"Oh that's mine. I got hot so I took it off."Brooke took the hoodie from Keith.

"Right. It does get pretty hot in here during winter."Keith smiled at Brooke, who again just looked at the floor.

Lucas had to hold back a laugh. He had never seen Brooke squirm this much before. It was really fun to watch.

Keith too was having fun giving Brooke a hard time, but decided it was enough. The poor girl looked like she didn't know what to do next."So Brooke are you going to stay and join us for dinner? We're going to eat right after Karen's call. We don't have anything here, but I'll call and have something delivered."

"Um, no. I'm sure you two want to be alone for the phone call and then dinner. I don't want to impose."

"Babe, your not imposing. We want you here. Besides my mom only gets a few minutes to talk, there's no way we can have a deep conversation in that amount of time. She's very busy down there."

"Well if your sure."

"We are."said Keith.

"Well in that case, I'd love to stay."

Ring, ring, ring.

Keith quickly answered the phone."Hello."

"Keith, hi. It's good to hear your voice again."

"Karen we just talked a couple of days ago."

"I know, but I miss everyone so much."

"We miss you too. How are things over there?"

"Hectic as usual. I'm on my 10 minute break. Is Lucas there?"

"Yes he is. Hold on."

Lucas grabbed the phone."Hi mom."

"Hey my sweet boy. How are you?"

"I'm good mom, real good. What about you?"

"Busy. I never thought it would be this hard."

"I'm sure you can handle it."

"So what have you been up to?"

"Nothing really just going to school and hanging out with Brooke."

Brooke looked at him. He shrugged. She couldn't believe he mentioned her to his mom that was thousands of miles away.

"Brooke? Who is that?"

"She's my girlfriend. She's really great. She reminds me a lot of you mom. I know you'll love her. Keith does. He just invited her to stay with us for dinner."

"Well she sounds great and I can hear she makes you happy."

"She does."

"So she's there now?"

"Yes."

"Can I say hi to this young woman that is making my baby happy?"

"Sure hold on."Lucas held out the phone to Brooke who looked shocked.

"What?"

"She wants to talk to you."

"Me? Why?"

"I don't know. Why don't you take the phone and find out."he shook his head at how nervous she was.

Brooke took the phone and took a deep breath."Hello."

"Hello Brooke. So your the one spending time with my son huh?"

"Yeah, that would be me."

"Lucas sounds really happy. I hear that's because of you."

"He is happy, but I doubt it's because of me."

"I think it is. Well I just wanted to say hi and I can't wait to meet you when I get home. You'll have to come over for dinner."

"I'd love to and I can't wait to meet you either. Lucas is always talking about you."

"I hope only about the good things."laughed Karen.

"Yes, only good thing, you don't have to worry."

"Okay well we'll get together when I get back. I'll see you then Brooke."

"You too, bye."

Lucas and Keith said their goodbyes and soon hung up. Keith then called and ordered pizza and everyone sat and ate talking.They all had a great time. It was getting late and Brooke needed to get home. Lucas walked her out to her car.

"So this was fun, don't you think?"

"Yes. I really had a great time. Well after your uncle gave me a hard time it was fun."

"He was only kidding Brooke."

"I know. It was also fun talking to your mom. I can't wait to meet her."

"She can't wait to meet you either. She wants you to come to dinner when she gets back."

"Yeah, I know I already agreed."said Brooke with a slight smile.

"Don't worry she's gonna love you Brooke. Just like I do."

"I hope so. Well I should really get going. It's late. I'll see you tomorrow."she pulled Lucas to her and kissed him.

They stayed there kissing for a few minutes. One kiss was never enough for them. Finally they pulled apart.

"I'll see you later Broody. I love you."

"I love you too babe."

Brooke got into her car and Lucas closed the door for her. She gave him one last wave before driving off.

Lucas turned and started to walk back to the house with a smile. He couldn't wait until tomorrow, so he could see her again. He already missed her and she just left. He knew he had it bad for her. He was about to open the door when her heard someone call his name.

"Lucas?"

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. I hoped you enjoyed this Brucas filled chapter. I thought I'd give you guys something before everything gets bad for the couple. It's coming soon. Please let me know what you think. Read and review. Thanks. 

**Coming Up:**

Who is calling Lucas' name?

What does Keith have to say about the visitor?

Is there another surprise visitor?


	7. Your Pretty Pathetic

**Chapter Seven**

_**Your Pretty Pathetic**_

"Lucas."

Lucas turned around when he heard the familiar voice call him."Peyton what are you doing here? It's late."

"I know, but I needed to talk to you. I saw Brooke's car here earlier so I just came back. Can we talk?"

Lucas was a little hesitant. He didn't have a good feeling about this."Yeah...sure lets go inside."Lucas opened the door."Lets go to my room. We can talk in there."

Keith heard him talking to someone."I thought you were going home Brooke. Haven't you had enough of my nephew? I know I have."Keith walked up to them and saw it wasn't Brooke Lucas was talking to."Oh I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else."

"It's okay."said Peyton walking to Lucas' room.

Lucas started to follow, but was stopped.

"Luke can I talk to you for a minute?"

He nodded."I'll be right there Peyton."he turned back to face his uncle.

"Lucas what the hell are you doing?"

"What?"

"What? You just spent the whole afternoon with Brooke and the second she leaves, you come in here with another girl. A girl I've seen your girlfriend with a dozen times."

"They're best friends."said Lucas looking down.

"That's even worse Lucas. I thought after our talk you were going to end things with one of them. I thought it was going to be Brooke, but then I see her here with you so I assume it's the other girl, but when Brooke leaves, you come in with this one. What are you doing?"

"I did break it off with one of them. This one."said Lucas pointing to his door."She just showed up. I didn't invite her here. What was I supposed to do? Tell her I didn't want to talk to her? I can't do that."

"I just hope you know what your doing."

"I do. Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything to hurt Brooke."

"Good. She seems like a really great girl. Don't hurt her if you don't have to."said Keith as he walked into the living room.

Lucas walked the rest of the way to his room and saw Peyton sitting on his bed waiting. He walked in without bothering to close the door."So what did you want to talk about?"

"Nothing really. I just missed you."

"Look Peyton, I'm sorry, but.."

Peyton cut him off."Yeah, I know. You want Brooke. I know and I get that, but it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

"I'm really sorry Peyton. I don't know what else to say."Lucas hated that he was hurting her, but he had to do this if he was going to be with Brooke.

"Say you made a mistake. Say I'm the one you want."

"I'm sorry, I can't say that."he said with a sigh."If I could take away all your hurt I would. I know I'm the one who caused it and I hate that."

"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come over here. I was just feeling lonely. I don't want to lose you completely. If friends is all I get, then I'll take it."said Peyton with a small smile.

"I'm really glad you said that. I want us to stay friends too."

She nodded."So are you going to tell Brooke?"

"I keep going back and fourth on this, but yeah. I decided I have to. Haley's right. I can't lie to her everyday. I hope your okay it this."

"As long as I have you as a friend I'm okay with it. I hope Brooke doesn't end up hating us though."

"Me too. Look it's getting really late and I still have some homework to do. Can we finish talking tomorrow?"

"Sure."she leaned forward and hugged him. He hugged her back feeling a little awkward. She pulled away slightly and looked into his eyes. She slowly leaned in and kissed him.

It took him a second to realize what was going on. He was about to pull away.

* * *

There was a knock at the door. Keith got up from the couch to answer it."Nathan what are you doing here?" 

"Hi Keith. I know it's late, but I really need to talk to Lucas."Keith looked at him skeptically, so he continued."You see I'm having this problem with Haley and he's her best friend so I figured he'd know how to get her to talk to me again."

Keith nodded."If anybody can give you advice on Haley, it'd be Lucas. He's in his room. Go ahead and go in. Tell him I'm going to bed, will you."

"Sure, goodnight Keith."

"Night Nathan."Keith went into his room and shut the door.

Nathan walked to Lucas' room and saw the door was open. He walked in and was surprised to see what was going on."Whoa... Sorry Brooke, I didn't know you..."he stopped when he saw the two pull apart."Peyton?"Nathan looked from one to the other wondering what was going on, but it was obvious. Brooke popped into his head."Dude you are such a dick. I can't believe you are doing this to Brooke."

Lucas stood up."I'm not doing anything to Brooke. This isn't what it looked like."he was about to continue, but was cut off.

"So your saying I didn't walk in on you two kissing?"

"Yes you did, but.."again he was cut off.

"That's what I thought."he turned and looked at Peyton."I thought you were her best friend."

"I am."

"Right. Brooke never would have done this to you and this is how you repay her. Your pretty pathetic."

Peyton's eyes began to tear up and a few tears fell. Lucas saw this."Leave her alone. Don't you ever talk to her like that."

"Oh, am I insulting your new girlfriend?"

"Shut the hell up. What are you doing here anyways?"

"I came to get your advice on something, but now I don't want to hear a damn thing you say."

"Good, then leave."

"Gladly."Nathan walked out.

Peyton turned to Lucas."Oh my god, what have I done? I can't believe this. What's gonna happen now? She is going to hate us Lucas. I know it."

"Peyton stop. Don't worry. Nathan may be a jerk sometimes, but I don't think he'll say anything to her. I'll still be able to tell her myself when the time is right."

"Are you crazy? What do you mean he won't say anything to her? They are friends Lucas. I bet he's on his way to see her right now."

"I keep hearing about how great of friends they are, but I've never even seen them talk."

"So. They have a history together. They were friends before she and I were friends. They did everything together. It was just recently that they grew apart. There is no way that he would keep this from her."

Lucas couldn't get everything she just said out of his head."You said they were good friends, but were they ever more than that?"he need to know.

"What does that have to do with him telling her?"

"Nothing, just answer the question please."

"Okay, no they weren't, but only because Brooke didn't want to ruin their friendship."

"So your saying Nathan tried."

"Yes, but then he agreed with her. Their friendship was too important to them. Then of course we started dating. Lucas what are we gonna do?"

"I don't know, but I need to talk to her first. She needs to hear this from me if there's even a chance that she'll forgive me. There's no way I'm going to lose her. I love her too much."

"Me too. I'm sorry I shouldn't even have come here and I shouldn't have kissed you either."

"Why'd you do it anyways? I told you that I wanted to be with Brooke."

"I know. I think that's why I did it. I wanted one last kiss before things completely ended for us, but I know it was a mistake now. We're gonna lose her, you know that right?"

"No, we're not. I can't. We have to make her see it was all a mistake."

"I hope we can."

"You should go. I need to see Brooke."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I think I should do this alone. If we go together it might look like we're ganging up on her and I don't want her to feel that way."

"Okay, your right. I'll see you later."

Lucas walked her out and got into his uncles truck and drove straight to Brooke's.

* * *

Nathan got out of his car and knocked on his door. He waited, but nobody came. He knocked again and still nobody came. He slowly turned the nob and the door opened. It was unlocked just like he knew it would be. He used to always yell at her about this. She used to say"Come on Nathan we live in Tree Hill. Nothing bad ever happens here."He had hoped she'd changed, but clearly she hadn't. He walked to her room and opened the door and found her asleep on her bed. She looked so peaceful and beautiful. How was he supposed to wake her up and ruin her life? He didn't want to hurt her, but there was no way he wasn't going to tell her. He couldn't keep this a secret because if she found out he knew and didn't say anything she'd never forgive him and he wasn't about to let that happen. They were barely getting back to the way thing used to be. He quickly wrote her a note saying he needed to talk to her and it was important. He left it on her night stand. He walked out of her room closing the door behind him. Using the spare key to her house that he still had on his key ring he locked the door behind him. He got into his car and drove home trying to figure out exactly what he was going to say to her tomorrow.

* * *

Lucas parked his truck and ran to the door and knocked. Nobody came, he knocked again louder this time. Still nothing. He wondered where she could be. She told him she was going straight home. He really didn't want to leave because he needed to be the one to tell her about Peyton if they were going to have a chance of staying together. He decided he couldn't sit out there all night waiting. He'd come and see her early in the morning. He turned and glanced one last time at the house before walking back to his truck, hoping everything would be okay.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. They were great. 

**ZoeLuv80:**Thanks for the review! I know Lucas was being a bit of a hypocrite, but he doesn't see it that way. He only thinks he's looking out for his best friend, but your right his lie is far worse than Nathan's.

**Brucasfanatic:**Again thanks for you reviews. I really look forward to them! I know Peyton is still pissing you off and I know after this chapter you'll still feel the same. I'll give you a little spoiler. She's only going to get worse.lol. I'm glad you liked the Brucas love scene. I wasn't too sure about it. Karen and Brooke aren't they great? I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Ali213: **Don't we all love Brucas?

**TwinkleTot69:**I hope your not disappointed that they didn't get along in this scene, but you were right. One of the visitors was Nathan.

**jenna:**Thanks for the review. You were right. It was Peyton!

I know this chapter was kind of short, but I needed to end it here to start the next one where it needed to be started. I think I will have the next chapter up tomorrow. Let me know what you think. Please read and review! Thanks.

**Coming Up:**

The next chapters title is Clued In.

Who gets to Brooke first?

How does Brooke take the news?


	8. Clued In

**Chapter Eight**

_**Clued In**_

Brooke woke up early the next morning, since she went to sleep so early. She turned to look at her clock and saw it read 6:00. She was about to try and get another hour of sleep when she saw a paper folded on her night stand. It had her name on it. She quickly unfolded it and saw it was from Nathan. He really needed to talk to her about something important. She realized he must have come over last night while she was asleep. She quickly got out of bed and took a shower. She really wanted to know what it was that Nathan wanted to tell her. She was going to go to school early today for a change just to find out.

* * *

Lucas quickly got out of his truck and knocked. Nobody came. He saw the door bell and rang it cursing himself for not trying it last night. He rang it again, still nobody came. He began to get worried. She wasn't home last night and she said she was going to be and she still wasn't home the next morning. He looked around for her car and that still wasn't there either. He ran back to his truck and got in. He headed to school hoping she'd be there. If she wasn't then he knew something was wrong.

* * *

Brooke stopped at her locker to put her things away before she went in search of Nathan. She had never been to school this early so she had no idea if Nathan himself would be there. She just hoped he would. She was happy to see Nathan putting his things in his locker. She quickly walked up to him."So what did you want to talk to me about you perv?" 

Nathan turned to face her with his eyebrows furrowed."Perv?"

"Yes perv. You snook into my house late last night, while I was sleeping might I add. I'm more than sure you stood and watched me sleep for a while. Then you left me a mysterious note saying you needed to see me. That sounds a little stalkerish if you ask me and we all know stalkers are all pervs. So I ask again what did you want to talk to me about you perv?"said Brooke with a laugh.

"Funny B, real funny."

"Thanks."

"Only you would take that as a compliment."

"Whatever."

"Oh, yeah what have I told you about locking the door at night Brooke?"

"To do it?"

"Exactly, so why don't you?"

"Because this is Tree Hill."

"B, be serious."

"Okay. I'm sorry. From now on I will always lock the front door. Are you happy?"

"Yes."

"Is that what you needed to tell me that was sooo important."said Brooke waving her hands around as she spoke.

"No, it's not."

"Well then what's up Nate?"

He looked at her. She seemed so happy and he was about to ruin that. He had never hated Lucas as much as he did right now. This was all his fault."There's something you need to know."

"What is it?"asked Brooke. She knew it was serious just by the look on his face.

"Well, last night I saw..."

"BROOKE!"

Brooke spun around and saw Lucas practically running toward her."Hey handsome. What's the hurry?"she leaned into him and gave him a lingering kiss.

Nathan turned away upset. He didn't want Lucas anywhere near Brooke, let alone kissing her.

Lucas was a little shocked by what she did. Obviously Nathan hadn't told her yet."It's nothing. I just really need to talk to you."

"Okay, well give me a couple of minutes and I'm all yours. Nathan just needs to talk to me first."

"No this can't wait!"Lucas knew he sounded crazy, but he didn't care. He had to be the one to tell her. Only he could try to make her understand.

"I'm sorry Lucas, but your gonna have to wait. I was with Nathan first. It will only take a few minutes I promise. I'll come find you when we're done."she patted his chest.

Lucas looked up to Nathan pleadingly."Nathan please."

The last thing he wanted to do was help Lucas out, but he agreed."Go ahead Brooke. I'll just talk to you later." If Lucas wanted to tell her then it was fine. He probably should be the one anyways. As long as Brooke knew that's all that mattered.

"Are you sure Nate? As impatient as he is, he can wait."

"No it's cool. Just come find me when your done. We'll talk then."

"Sure thing. I'll see you later Nate."she waved to him and grabbed Lucas' hand.

"What's up Lucas?"

"Lets go outside and sit down."he led her outside to a table and they sat down.

"Okay, we're here and we're sitting down. What's going on?"

Lucas pulled her hands into his and held them tight. He leaned in and kissed her, hoping it wouldn't be the last time he did this. He finally pulled away and looked into her eyes."I want you to know that I love you so much."he stopped as his voice cracked. He didn't know if he could do this.

"Lucas your scaring me. What's going on?"seeing the look on his face made her want to cry. He looked so sad. She knew this wasn't going to be good.

Lucas finally found his voice and continued."The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you and I hate myself for what I'm about to say."he again stopped when he saw how sad she looked. She already looked hurt and she didn't even know anything yet. This was the hardest thing he'd ever done.

"Lucas will you please quit stopping and tell me what's going on."she pleaded.

Lucas tightened his grip on her hands. He took a deep breath."Peyton and I kissed."

His words stung her. She quickly pulled her hands out of his grasp and stood up."What do you mean, you and Peyton kissed? When?"

"You know how we had to get a motel room when we went to identify that body?"she absentmindedly nodded."She forgot something and we had to go back for it. We were so happy it wasn't him. Somehow we ended up kissing. We stopped before it went any further."he looked up at her needing to know her reaction.

She couldn't believe this. He just said that like it was a good thing."Before it went any further!"she shouted."You just kissing her was going too far. How could you do this?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

She ignored everything he just said and continued."That was a couple of days ago. Was that the only time it happened?"she asked calmly.

"No."his answer was barely audible.

Brooke scoffed shaking her head."I didn't think so. When else did you make out with my best...well ex best friend?"

"Brooke we don't need to talk about that. We should be talking about us."

"Answer the damn question Lucas! I think I have the right to know when exactly you two were betraying me."

"Fine, it was the same day. Before we went to see you, we parked her car and talked and it happened again. I'm really sorry for..."

Brooke cut him off."What did you two talk about? Were you planning on breaking up with me for her?"

"No that was never the plan."

"Well then what was the plan? You were going to have us both, weren't you?"

"I don't know okay."

"You don't know? Oh my god Lucas that's a load of bull and you know it. That was your plan. Wow and here I thought you actually meant it when you told me you loved me. That's funny right?"said Brooke with a cold laugh.

"I did mean it. I still do. I love you Brooke."

"Stop saying that!"

"No I won't. It's the truth."

"No the truth is you wanted my best friend all along. Well I'm happy for you. You finally got her and you can have her all to yourself. I don't want anything to do with her or you ever again."she turned and walked away.

"Brooke stop. We're not finished."

"No actually we are."she looked him in the eyes."I love you, I don't want you to ever doubt that. What a load of bull. I can't believe I fell for that. Did you get off on lying to me over and over again? Did you two laugh at me behind my back? Poor stupid Brooke she bought it, right?"

"It wasn't like that and you know it."

"Actually I don't know it. I thought I knew you two, but I was wrong. So now I don't know anything."

"I'm sorry Brooke. I really am. I need you to know that I do love you and you shouldn't doubt it."

"If you loved me you wouldn't have done this to to me."

"I know and this isn't an excuse because I know there aren't any, but I did all of this before I realized I loved you. That night at your house everything I said to you was the truth. You are an amazing person Brooke. I can't imagine my life without you. When we're together I can't help but smile. Your it for me. I just wish I had realized it sooner. I regret everything I did with her. I told her it was a mistake. She knows your the one I want to be with. If I could, I'd take it all back. You have to believe me."he pleaded.

Tears slowly began to fall. She hated him for doing this to her. The last thing she wanted was for him to see her cry, but here she was crying and she couldn't stop.

"Brooke please talk to me."

All the anger she had was now somehow gone. She now felt broken. She loved him. So how could he do this to her? More tears began to fall. She couldn't help it. She knew she must look pathetic. She needed to get out of there. She felt too much when he was around.

Lucas stepped closer to her and held out his arms to her."Brooke, baby please come here."

She wanted so much for him to wrap her up in his arms and make everything go away. All this hurt. It couldn't happen though. He was the one who caused her to feel this way and a hug wasn't going to make it better.

He stepped even closer to her wanting to hold her and make her hurt disappear. He hated that he did this to her. That she was crying because of him. He never wanted to be the reason she cried and now he was.

She put up her hands to stop him from coming any closer."Don't do this Lucas. Please stay away from me."her voice was barely above a whisper. She didn't even know if he had heard her.

"Brooke please don't say that.You mean too much to me. I need you in my life. I can't lose you."

Brooke let out a convulsive sigh."It's too late. You already lost me."her voice once again cracked as she said the words she never thought she'd have to say to him. She turned and walked away as more tears fell. She had never been this hurt before. The last thing she wanted to do was let Lucas see she was vulnerable. She wanted him to think she didn't care. She needed him to think she was strong. But that was Lucas, she could never hide her true self from him. It always came out just like it did today.

"Brooke please don't go. I love you."she heard him yell to her, but she didn't dare turn around because if she did she just might believe him and run straight into his arms. She wanted to believe he meant it. When she looked into his eyes earlier, he looked like he was telling the truth, but then again if he really meant it none of this would be happening right now.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. 

**ZoeLuv80:**Thanks for your review. I agree that Lucas is being stupid, but I think it's more that he knows he's really hurt Peyton and doesn't want to do it again. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Read and review!

**Lilybee2003:**Thanks for the review._ I can _see that Lucas isn't your favorite person right now and I'm sorry. I also didn't like those sames scenes with Peyton and Brooke. I hope you continue to read this. Thanks.

**Mony19:**Thanks for the review. I can see you also aren't liking Lucas too much right now. You'll have to wait and see if she goes back to him. lol. Read and review.

**Ali213:**Thanks for the review. I hope you liked this chapter. Lucas did tell her.

**crazy:**Thanks for he review. I hope you liked this chapter.

**TwinkleTot69:**I hope you liked that I had Lucas be the one to tell her, although they did break up.

**brucasfanatic:**Thanks for the review. I absolutely loved it. I have up to chapter 12 written so I can UD more often. Yes you are pretty smart. You actually put a lot of thought into it. I like how much you hate Peyton. I don't like her very much either. I didn't think you'd like the whole one last kiss thing. As for Lucas sticking up for Peyton, he feels that he's really hurt her and doesn't want to continue to do it. He also didn't like that Nathan made her cry. Another spoiler just for you, and everybody who reads this.lol Lucas will soon give Peyton a piece of his mind. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

I really hoped you liked this chapter. This one was a difficult one for me to write. I know it's another short one. I'm sorry. I debated on having Nathan tell her, but in the end I felt that it should really be Lucas that told her. I wanted to show that Brooke was mad, but also really hurt. I had her break down in front of Lucas because he needed to see what he had done to her. This sad and broken Brooke isn't the only Brooke that will make an appearance. The bitchy Brooke will be back, besides she hasn't seen Peyton yet. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks.

**Coming Up:**

Nathan and Lucas have words.

Brooke has some time alone to think.

Brooke and Lucas "talk".


	9. No One To Trust

**Chapter Nine**

_**No One To Trust**_

Lucas stood outside for what seemed like hours, but in actuality was only minutes not knowing what to do next. He knew he shouldn't be surprised, of course this was how it was going to turn out. There was no other way. Even though he knew all of that, in his head he pictured her being upset, but knowing that he really did love her and she would run into his arms and forgive him. They would be together with no secrets. Yeah, he knew that would never have happened, but it didn't make him want it any less.

He slowly turned and walked through the doors that he not long ago he walked through holding Brooke's hand. He looked down as he made his way to his locker. His head instinctively jot up when he heard footsteps coming his way. This was the last person he wanted to see right now.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? She left with you."

"Yeah, well she got pissed at me and ran off, so like I said I don't know."

"And you just let her run off?"said Nathan shaking his head.

"Nathan, what the hell was I supposed to do? Grab her by the arm and force her to stay with me? Maybe that's your style, but it's not mine. I'm not going to force anyone to do anything they don't want to and she didn't want to be around me, so she left."

"I hope you didn't let her run to her car. I doubt she's in any shape to drive."

"I'm not stupid. She's still here at school somewhere."

"Actually you are pretty stupid for messing things up with her. I still can't believe you did this."

"I know and I've already heard all of this okay?"

"No, it's not okay. You can't go around hurting people you claim to love."

Lucas scoffed."I know what I did was wrong and I will regret it for a really long time, but your one to talk. How you can stand there and lay into me for what I did and how I hurt her is unbelievable. Your not so perfect yourself Nathan. In fact your just as bad as me.Your girlfriend also can't stand you and broke up with you because you hurt her. So don't you dare stand there and look down on me."

"Don't you ever compare me to you. I am nothing like you. Yes, I hurt Haley and she doesn't want anything to do with me right now, but we are not the same. I know it's not right, but all I did was lie to her, you cheated on Brooke with her best friend. You helped take away her best friend. To me and to her that is unforgivable and I am going to make sure she never goes anywhere near you again."

"Well I'm going to do the same thing with Haley because I seem to think that lying and using her is also unforgivable."

"Do what you got to do man."Nathan started to walk past him, but stopped."Oh, and one more thing. I know you are a bastard, but don't flaunt your new relationship with Peyton in Brooke's face because if you continue to hurt her, I will personally kick your ass and I'll have fun doing it."he walked away to find Brooke.

* * *

Brooke spent the first two periods in the faculty restroom with the door locked, thanks to her stolen key. She needed somewhere where she could cry and not be seen doing it. She looked into the mirror. She hated what she saw. When had she become this broken girl who cried over a guy? Her eyes landed on her neck. There it was, the mark she knew he would leave on her when he kissed her neck. Her fingers lazily traced it remembering everything that happened just yesterday. How did this happen? Just last night she was the happiest she had ever been. She spent all day in Lucas' arms feeling loved. Nobody had ever made her feel that loved, but nobody had ever hurt her this much either. He had just taken everything away from her in the blink of an eye. The first time she let herself love someone she'd gotten hurt. She really thought he cared, but obviously she was wrong. How could he do this to her? How could he lie to her and tell her he loved her? That's what she didn't get. Her life was just turned upside down by the two people she loved and trusted the most. 

As much as she hated Lucas, and she did hate him, she found herself hating Peyton even more. She knew that guys were all the same. No matter how good they treated you to your face, they were still just guys. They were meant to screw you over. It happened everyday, but best friends were supposed to be different. They were supposed to be there for you with the tissues while you cried, holding your hand and they were supposed to bad mouth the guy with you when the crying faze was over and all you did was hate the guy. They weren't supposed to be the reason you cried over the guy or the one you bad mouthed along with the guy.

She didn't understand how Peyton could do this to her. She would never have done this to her. Obviously their friendship meant more to her than it did to Peyton. This thought angered her. Had their friendship always been one sided and she just never saw it before? It had to have been for Peyton to screw her over so easily for a guy. Just then she pictured them kissing. She pictured Lucas doing everything he did with her to her. All the sadness she was feeling suddenly was replaced by anger. She quickly wiped away her tears. She wasn't going to do this. She wasn't going to sit here and cry over two people who didn't give a damn about her. They weren't worth it. She wasn't a weak person. She was Brooke Davis and Brooke Davis never let anything or anyone get to her, ever. There would be no more crying, no more feeling sorry for herself. She wasn't the one who did anything wrong, so there was no need to be hiding like this. She washed her face and reapplied her make up and decided she needed to talk to Haley. Nobody was going to see her cry again, not over him and certainly not over her.

* * *

It was now lunch time and Brooke was on her way to the cafeteria when she saw him turn the corner and walk in her direction. He was the last, well second to last person she wanted to see right now. All the certainty and strength she felt earlier escaped her. She hated him for making her feel so much."Get a grip Davis."she told herself."He's not worth it."she forced herself to continue walking, not once looking at him. She just passed him when she heard him call her name. 

"Brooke."

She debated continuing to walk away or staying. Staying won and she turned to face him. She wanted to show him she didn't care. She hated that she fell apart in front of him earlier and she needed to make up for it now. She just hoped he wouldn't see through her act."What the hell do you want Lucas? Are you here to tell me some more fabulous news? Did being with my best friend already get boring and now you've decided to go after my mother?"

"Come on Brooke, stop. You sound ridiculous."

"No, I sounded ridiculous when I told you I loved you. I don't do love. I never have and I never will. So if there isn't a point to you stopping me I'd like to leave."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to say that. I am really sorry for hurting you."

"Why don't you tell that to somebody who cares like my ex best friend."Brooke turned and walked away.

"I still love you."he shouted."No matter what."

Brooke stopped and walked straight up to him and slapped him."I already told you to stop saying that. I don't believe a word of it, but you know Peyton might be stupid enough to believe it. Try saying it to her. Hell it might even be true. I bet you do love her."

"That's not true."

"Yeah, like I'd believe anything that came out of your mouth ever again."

"Why are you being like this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I not acting the way I should?"Brooke let out a cold smile."Should I be more happy that my boyfriend told me he wants my best friend?"

"I don't want Peyton. I want to be with you. I love you, not her, you."he let out a huge sigh. He didn't know what to say to make her believe him.

"Wow. These lies Lucas, you really need to stop."she lowered her voice and continued."If Peyton hears, she just might get upset."

"I don't care. This isn't you. Your not some angry, bitter person. Your hurt, I get that, you don't have to hide it from me. I know you Brooke."

Brooke got angry. She knew he would be able to see through her, but she wouldn't give in."So you want to see me cry, is that it? Is that fun for you? If your waiting for me to break down in front of you again so you can laugh, I'm sorry it's not gonna happen. Your not worth it. You never were. It just took me a while to see it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have places to be. I'm sure my ex best friend wouldn't mind your company though."she turned and walked with her head held high, when she really just wanted to cry.

* * *

Nathan went back inside after searching the parking lot for Brooke's car. He finally found it, so he knew she was still there. He just needed to find out where. He'd looked everywhere since leaving Lucas earlier. He saw Haley sitting by herself studying. He went up to her."Hey." 

She looked up at him."Go away."

"Look I know your still pissed at me, but do you know where Brooke is?"

"Well didn't you move on rather quickly? I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but she's taken. She's with Lucas, you know, your brother?"

"It's not like that. I just need to find her. I think she really needs a friend right now."

"Why? What's going on?"asked Haley now concerned.

"Well I probably shouldn't say anything, but I'm sure your going to find out sooner or later. Lucas cheated on Brooke with Peyton."

"So she actually broke up with him?"she shook her head. She knew this would happen.

"You don't sound at all surprised at what I just said."he didn't understand why and then it hit him."Of course your not surprised. He's your best friend, you knew he was cheating on her didn't you?"

Haley just sat there.

"Answer the question Haley."

Haley turned around to see Brooke standing behind her.

"Answer the question. Did you know what was going on with Lucas and Peyton?"

Haley didn't want to lie. She couldn't."Yes."

"How could you not tell me? I went on and on about how much I loved him and about how much I thought he loved me and you just sat there listening, knowing he never actually loved me at all. That it was all a lie. You even encouraged me, saying I was the only one he's ever told he loved, when you knew it was Peyton he really wanted."

"That's not true Brooke. Lucas wants to be with you and he really hasn't told another girl he loved her before. That's the truth. You know that when he says something he really means it."

"No actually I don't. Everything I thought I knew, it just so happens I don't. I was wrong about everything and everyone. I was even wrong to think that we were becoming friends."

"We are friends Brooke. I am your friend."

"No, a friend would have told me what was going on. Especially yesterday at lunch when I brought it up. You just sat there and stayed quiet. You could have said something, anything to let me know, but you didn't. So if you call yourself my friend, I'd hate to see what you'd do if I was your enemy. I don't even know why I'm surprised, you always wanted Lucas to be with Peyton. Well now you got your wish and so did they. They can be together now without me in the middle."she turned and left.

Nathan looked at Haley, seeing that she was hurting. He placed his hand on hers."I have to go after her. Are you going to be okay?"

Haley looked at him."Yeah, I'll be fine. Go after her. She really needs somebody right now."

Nathan gave her hand a squeeze."I want to stay and talk to you, but Brooke. Can I call you later?"

"Sure, whatever."

Nathan gave her a slight smile before he got up and went after Brooke.

Haley couldn't believe this just happened. Brooke now hated her and she had every right to. She should have said something, but she didn't.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. 

**Mony19:**Thanks for the review. It's not that Nathan telling Brooke is what made Lucas decide to tell Brooke. He was going to tell her anyways, just not this soon. It was Nathan that made him do it this soon though. I hope you enjoyed this chapter Thanks.

**ZoeLuv80:**Thanks for the review! I also wished the show would have let Brooke show them how hurt she was. It was like she told Peyton she knew and then that was it. I know she gave them a few bitchy comments here and there, but still. I also hated how Brooke was all alone in the show after everything happened. I hated seeing her crying alone on her bed when Peyton was with Haley or Jake. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks.

**BlueSilverLining:**Thanks for the review. I know that chapter was pretty depressing, but it had to be done. Thanks.

**brucasfanatic:**Your review was great as always thanks. I also thought that chapter was sad, but Lucas needed to see what he did to her. I also didn't like how they had Peyton on this high pedestal last season. There's no way Brooke should have forgiven her that easily. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks.

**crazy:**Thanks for the review. I'm glad you like this story.

Thanks to everybody else who reviewed too. I hope you liked this chapter. I know Brooke was kind of hard on Haley, especially after all Haley did for her. Brooke just doesn't know about any of the **yet,** but she will. Brooke just doesn't know who to trust now. Everything she thought she knew turned out to be a lie. Everybody she trusted she now thinks she can't. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks.

**Coming Up:**

Nathan knew too!

Lucas gets jealous.

Brooke sees Peyton.


	10. Brooke's Bodyguard

**Chapter Ten**

_**Brooke's Bodyguard**_

Brooke walked toward the parking lot needing to get the hell out of there. She didn't know what the hell was going on. She just kept losing everybody she thought she could trust. She was on her way to talk to Haley, but when she got there she overheard Nathan's question. She didn't even need Haley to answer the question, she already knew the answer was yes. Of course Haley knew. They were probably all laughing at her. She was pulled out of her thoughts by someone calling her name.

"Brooke! Hey where are you going?"

"Anywhere that isn't here."she searched her purse for her keys and finally found them.

"Don't go."

"What are you talking about? I can't stay and be around all of them."

"But if you go, your letting them win. They will know they got to you and I know you don't want them to know that."

"But if I stay, then I'll have to see them and I don't want that even more."

"I'll stay with you. I'll walk you to class and pick you up after class. I won't leave you alone for one second. You don't have either one of them for your last two classes today, so you'll be okay."

Brooke sighed."Fine I'll stay, besides I have a huge test next period and I really can't afford to miss it."

"Good."

"So can you believe that Haley knew about Lucas and didn't tell me? I mean I thought we were friends, but obviously I was wrong. Hell I was wrong about a lot of things."

"I know that Haley keeping this from you was wrong, but don't you think you were a little hard on her?"

"I was hard on her? I don't think so. Everything I thought I knew was just pulled out from under me and she knew about it and kept quiet. How can I forgive that?"

"I'm sure she wanted to tell you. I bet she even pleaded with them to do it, but she's his best friend, how was she supposed to choose? I'm not telling you to forgive her, I'm just saying don't be too hard on her. I can tell she really hates herself right now."

"I don't know what to think anymore. So how exactly did you find out about all of this? Is it already all over school?"

Nathan looked away. Brooke looked at him, waiting for his answer."Please don't tell me you also knew and didn't say anything to me. I don't think I could take that."

Nathan looked at her."I did know, but..."

"Oh I get it, that's why you want me to forgive Haley for knowing and not saying anything. You just really want me to forgive you. I can't believe this. How could you?"

"Brooke it's not like that."

"Why does everybody keep saying that to me?"

"Brooke will you please shut up so I can explain everything."she stared at him not saying anything."Okay, good. Yes I knew, but I didn't keep anything from you. That's what I needed to tell you earlier. That's why I went over to your house last night."

Brooke nodded."I'm sorry. How did you find out?"

"I decided to follow your advice. I went to see Lucas to see what I could do to get Haley to talk to me again, but when I got there I saw him kissing Peyton."

Brooke's mouth dropped and she shook her head."That bastard lied to me again. He told me he only kissed her the day they came back, all before he told me he loved me. He left out the part about last night. God I was with him all day yesterday. I guess I wasn't enough for him. I guess I'll never be enough for him."her eyes began to water.

Nathan took her into his arms and held her."Brooke don't say that. You are more than enough. If Lucas couldn't see that then he is a damn fool. Your the best person I know and you will always be enough for me."he kissed the top of her head and rocked her back and fourth.

"I just don't know who I can trust anymore. Everyone I was sure of has let me down, well except for you that is."

"You can always trust me B. I will never let you down."

Brooke looked up at him."Thanks. I know you won't and you will always be enough for me too Nate. You always have been."she smiled up at him and hugged him tight. she then pulled way from him and slapped him in the back of the head.

"What the hell did you do that for? I thought we were having a moment."he laughed.

"We were, but now the moments over and you told me to shut up again. What did I tell you about that?"

"Well you wouldn't be quiet and I needed to explain."

"And I needed to hit you and I did."

"I know, your unbelievably strong B."

"Don't you forget it."

"Oh I won't. I don't want to get hit again."he placed his arm around her shoulder."Lets go inside."they walked off together.

* * *

They were both unaware that everything they did was being watched. Lucas stood in the back watching everything. He hated what he did to her. He hurt her and he could never take it back. He was glad that she had somebody to talk to, he just wished that that person wasn't Nathan. He hated that guy and right now he had his hands all over Brooke. He wouldn't put it past him to use Brooke to get to him like he used Haley. He was going to have to watch out for her even if she didn't want anything to do with him. Lucas walked away after taking one last glance in their direction. Nathan still held Brooke. He would have given anything to be the one holding and comforting her. It saddened him to know that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. Brooke now hated him. 

He walked to the courtyard and found Haley sitting alone at a table."Hey. Are you still mad at me?"

"Yes and no. I can tell you need somebody right now so I'll be a friend to you, but yes I'm still mad at you for the situation you put me in."

"So I guess you know that Brooke broke up with me."

"Yeah, Nathan came by and told me."

"God, I hate that guy. This is none of his business."

"Before you get all pissed off, he didn't come over here just to tell me your business, he wasn't even going to say anything, but I kinda forced him to by what I said to him. So she really broke up with you huh?"

Lucas nodded."Deep down inside I knew she would. It was just wishful thinking that she wouldn't. I guess that's why I was so dead set against her not knowing."

"So how did she find out anyways?"

"I told her this morning."

"Good for you Lucas. That was the right thing to do."

"Don't get too proud of me, I only did it because Nathan was about to. I mean I eventually was going to tell her, but I wouldn't have done it today."

"How did Nathan find out?"

"He saw Peyton and I kissing last night."

"What? I thought you said you loved Brooke and that things were over with Peyton."

"I do and they are."

"Then what the hell were you doing kissing her?"

"I didn't do anything. Last night she came over to talk. She begged me to change my mind and choose her, but I told her I couldn't. She said she was sorry and didn't mean it. Then she leaned in for a hug and before I knew it she kissed me. Nathan must have walked in that same second because that's how long it lasted, just a second. I pushed her away. Anyways I knew he was going to tell her and I caught them right before he did. He let me tell her, but it didn't help any. She hates me."

"So how exactly did she take it?"

"She was angry at first and then I told her exactly how I felt and how I meant everything I said to her and then she got really quiet. It was like she was thinking about believing me. She started to cry, Haley and I just wanted to hold her, but she wouldn't let me. She told me I lost her. I could tell she was so hurt and I hate myself for doing this to her."

"She'll get over this Lucas, she will."said Haley trying to reassure him, but not knowing if it was the truth.

"That's what I thought too, but then I saw her later she was so full of hate, that sad girl I thought would forgive me, was replaced by this angry girl I'd never seen before."

"Well that explains why she chewed me out."

"She's mad at you too?"

"She knows that I knew about it and didn't say anything. So I think it's safe to say she hates me too now."

"I'm really sorry for that. I didn't want for this to happen. I didn't want for any of this to happen."

"I know. I just feel really bad for her. She doesn't have anyone to talk to. She must feel so alone."said Haley shaking her head.

"She's not alone. She has Nathan. Supposedly they used to be the best of friends and now I guess they are good friends again."

"You don't sound to happy about that."

"I just saw them outside and he was holding her. It made me sick to my stomach."

"Why? They're just friends Lucas, nothing more."

"I know, but I hate him and I want to be the one holding Brooke."

"I'm sorry, but your the one who screwed up."

"I know and I hate myself for it. I used to think that she was just another girl, one I cared about, but if we ever broke up it wouldn't be a big deal. I was so wrong and now I hate having to know I have to be without her and it's all my fault."he turned away needing to gather all his emotions before he himself fell apart.

Haley saw how hurt he looked and felt sorry for him. She knew he screwed up and hurt Brooke, but he really did love her."You need to stop thinking about that and start thinking of ways to make her forgive you. That is, if you really want her back."

"You know I do."

"Well then prove it to her."

* * *

The rest of the school day was uneventful for Brooke. She managed to stay away from Lucas and even though she told Nathan she didn't need him to walk her to and from class he was always there. Somehow he managed to get to her class even before the bell rang. He was being really sweet and she was glad to have him."You know your great and all, but I can walk to my locker by myself. I'm very capable." 

"I never said you weren't. I just want to make sure no unwanted people approach you."

"Your very sweet. I'm done here so lets go to practice."they started walking." I guess it's a good thing we both practice in the same gym, otherwise you'd probably skip yours just to watch over me."she said with a laugh.

"How'd you know I'd do that?"also laughed Nathan.

"Because I know you."

They walked through the gym doors right as Lucas was about to walk out."Sorry, oh hey Brooke. I've been looking for you. I thought we could talk."

"Well isn't that too bad that she doesn't want to talk to you. In fact she doesn't want anything to do with you."said Nathan staring at Lucas.

Lucas stared at Nathan and then turned back to Brooke."Come on Brooke, can we please do this without your bodyguard?"

"Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Nathan."

Lucas shook his head."Fine if your that afraid to be alone with me then okay."he knew this would get to her.

"I'm not afraid to be alone with you Lucas."

"Okay then prove it, send him away."

Brooke turned to Nathan."I'll be fine, go ahead and change."

Nathan looked down at her."Brooke you don't have to listen to him."

"I'm not. I'll be fine."

Nathan hesitated."Okay, well then I'll be right back."

Brooke watched Nathan walk away slowly. She knew he didn't want to leave her with Lucas. She turned to face Lucas."Okay what the hell do you want?"

Lucas smiled at her."I knew you couldn't turn down a challenge."

Brooke shrugged."What do you want Lucas? I don't have time for this."

"I just wanted to talk to you, to make sure you were okay. I miss you. This day has been hell without you. Not being able to hold you is killing me."he stopped wanting to hear her response, hoping she was feeling the same.

"Are you done?"she asked coldly.

"No."he stepped closer and grabbed her hands before she was able to pull away. He looked into her eyes and saw that she was looking back into his."I love you Brooke, nobody else. You may hate me right now, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to make you forgive me. I am going to prove to you that you can trust me again and you are going to know that when I say I love you, I mean it. I promise you that."

Brooke stood there looking into his eyes, wanting to turn away, but couldn't. She was somehow pulled to him, by what she didn't know. She listened to everything he said and wanted to believe him. He sounded like he meant every word, but she couldn't trust it. She couldn't trust him."You can take those promises and shove them up your ass Lucas. I will never forgive you for what you did. Not only did you cheat on me, you continued to lie to me after you decided to tell me all about it."

"What are you talking about? I have been completely honest with you about what happened."

"So Nathan catching you two making out last night on your bed just slipped your mind?"

"That wasn't what it looked like."

"Really because Nathan seems to think it was exactly what it looked looked like."

"I don't give a damn about what Nathan says. He's wrong."

"How the hell can he be wrong about what he saw?"

"Do you want me to explain or are you going to keep interrupting me?"

"Go ahead. This should be interesting."

"Right after you left yesterday Peyton came by and asked if we could talk."

"Yeah, talk. I bet that's what she wanted to do."she caught the look on Lucas' face and stopped."Sorry."

"So we went into my room and talked."

Brooke interrupted again."What did you talk about?"

"You don't need to know all of that."

"Really? It was that bad huh? I must have been about me."

"No, I just don't want to be the reason you hate Peyton."

"Oh I hate Peyton because of the things she did just like I hate you for the things you did. Now tell me what you two talked about."

"She begged me to change my mind and to be with her."

"What did you say?"

"I told her no. I said I wanted to be with you. She said she understood and when she was about to leave she leaned in and kissed me. Nathan must have walked in just as she leaned in because I pushed her away the second it happened. It didn't mean anything. You have to believe that."

"I don't have to do anything. We're done here right, because like I said I don't have time for this."she heard a door open loudly at the other end of the gym and looked past Lucas to see Peyton walking in."Now that I have time for."she started to walk toward Peyton when Lucas grabbed her arm and stopped her."Get your hands off of me Lucas."she pulled herself free.

"Brooke please don't do this. Don't cause a scene."

Brooke scoffed."Trust me Lucas, what I'm about to do is gonna go way beyond causing a scene."

"Brooke don't."

"Look I know she's your girlfriend and all, but I think she's a big girl. She can take care of herself."she turned and walked toward Peyton.

Peyton looked at Brooke."Look Brooke I know your pissed at me, but can we do this later when we don't have an audience."

"First of all Peyton, what I am is far worse than just pissed. What I feel for you is pure hatred. I never thought I'd say that, but here I am. Second, why not do this in front of everybody? Do you not want them to know what an untrustworthy, back stabbing, boyfriend stealing, bitch you've become?"she turned to her squad."You better watch out girls. Keep those boyfriends away from her because if she can do this to somebody she called her best friend, then none of you are safe."

"I'm sorry for everything Brooke. We never meant to hurt you."

"I've already heard that from your boyfriend and it doesn't make a difference. I just want to know one thing though. When he kissed you and touched your face, did you want that feeling to last forever? Did it feel good to you? Were you happy?"

"Brooke stop. I'm not going to answer that ridiculous question."

"No please do. I want to know if it was worth it. If being with my boyfriend behind my back was worth losing our friendship. I mean obviously it was seeing how you did it more than once."

"It was a mistake Brooke."

"Yeah, your right, it was a mistake. It was my mistake thinking I could trust you to be alone with my boyfriend for one day, but don't worry I know it's not all your fault. Lucas was right there with you, betraying me."

"It wasn't like that Brooke. We didn't plan it. It just happened."

"I don't care if it was planned or not or how it even happened for that matter. It happened. I would have never done this to you, but I guess that just makes me a better person than you. And they call me a slut."Brooke laughed."How funny is that?"

"Brooke nobody here is a slut."

"No that's where your wrong, you are definitely one."

"Fine, call me what you want, but you need to know that I'm sorry for everything. If I could I'd take it all back. Being with Lucas wasn't worth losing your friendship. I want us to continue being friends. Your everything to me Brooke.Your all I have."

At this point everybody was watching the back and forth argument, hoping for a cat fight.

"Wow, that was a pretty heart felt speech there Peyt. It's too bad I don't believe a word of it. You expect me to believe that if right now Lucas came up to you and said he changed his mind and wanted you, you'd turn him down. Especially after begging him to do just that last night."

She couldn't believe Lucas told her about what she said."I would."

"That's crap and you know it, but I guess we'll never know because Lucas doesn't want you. If he did, he wouldn't be chasing me all around school, telling me he loved me and wanting me to forgive him. I guess he wised up huh? So you can stop throwing yourself at him, he's not falling for it. Don't worry though, there's no way I'm forgiving him so I'm sure with time, he'll go back to your sorry ass. That's good news right?"

"You can say all the hurtful things you want Brooke, but it doesn't change the fact that if Lucas really loved you, he wouldn't have been with me."she didn't want to hurt Brooke, but it was like she was going out of her way to hurt her. Throwing the fact that Lucas loved her in her face.

Lucas wanted to say something, but didn't. He figured they needed to do this and then it would hopefully be over.

What she just said hurt, Brooke couldn't deny it. It was true, but she wasn't going to let Peyton know she got to her."And to think I called you my best friend. Wow."

"Brooke I am your best friend, but you have to realize that you can't always get what you want. You knew I liked Lucas, but you went after him anyways. I just did the same thing you did."

"I asked you repeatedly if you liked Lucas and you said no over and over again. Don't even go there with me. I did nothing wrong."

"Just because you say something doesn't make it so. You should have known that."

"What, am I supposed to be a mind reader now?"

"No I'm not saying that. Look we've both done hurtful things to each other so don't lay all of this on me. If you never would have gone after Lucas in the first place, none of this would have happened."

"How typical, your blaming me for you messing with my boyfriend."Brooke turned to Lucas."Lucas are you getting this? Do you see what a psychopath you've chosen?"said Brooke with a laugh. She turned back to Peyton."I don't know how that screwed up head of yours works, but you did what you did because your a bitch and that's all your fault, not mine. Now why don't you take the boyfriend formally known as mine and stay the hell away from me. I don't want anything to do with either of you again."she saw Jake in the corner of her eye. She knew she shouldn't bring him into this, but the words just came out before she could stop them and she turned to him."I'm really sorry Jake I guess you know that the date I was trying to set you up on is now off. It turns out it was my boyfriend she wanted all along, but it's okay you deserve someone better than some boyfriend stealing bitch. Your too good for her. Hell anything is better than her."

Peyton looked around, everybody was looking at her wanting to see what she would say next. She couldn't take everybody staring at her. She needed to get out of there and fast. She turned and quickly ran out of the gym.

Brooke turned to Lucas."Hey you might want to go after your girlfriend. She didn't look too good."

Lucas shook his head and walked to grab a ball.

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. I love them.

**brucasfanatic:**Thanks a lot for your majorly long review. It means a lot to me that you have a lot to say. I'm glad you liked the slap. He did deserve it. I too thought the part where she was alone in the bathroom was sad. I wanted to show that she was truly hurt by what they did. I really hated Peyton last season. She really got to me when she made that comment to Lucas about not kissing Nathan and how she wouldn't do that to Haley. I was like hello, Brooke's supposed to be your best friend, but I guess you can do that to her though. I didn't want Haley not tell Brooke, but Lucas was her best friend and she had to honor that. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

**crazy:**Thanks for the review. I know this chapter was sad and I agree she has every right to be upset with everybody. She feels like she can't trust anyone right now. I hope you liked this chapter.

**ZoeLuv80:**Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked the chapter. I agree that Lucas was crazy for comparing what he did to what Nathan did. That's why Nathan told him what he did. Although what Nathan did was also bad. I also feel bad for Brooke. I'm starting to think I need to give her a break.lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks.

**kinGsFaN: **Thanks for your last two reviews. I agree Nathan has been great to Brooke. When thinking up this story it was always in my mind to make it more about her friendship with Nathan, then about her relationship with Lucas. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

I hope you liked this chapter. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I think it's one of my worst, but I wanted to give you guys an update. I rewrote the Brooke and Peyton argument a few times and didn't like how they were so I threw them out. I had Brooke say some really hurtful things to Peyton, but then decided I didn't want Peyton to seem like the victim so I threw that one out. This was the best one so I used it. Please let me know what you think. Read and review. Thanks.

**Coming Up:**

Peyton's evilness surfaces.

Brooke talks to Haley.

Nathan and Haley also talk.


	11. With It Being Lucas You Never Know

**Chapter Eleven**

_**With It Being Lucas You Never Know**_

Peyton sat down at her desk drawing a picture of what happened earlier that day in the gym. At the top she wrote"If he really loved you, he wouldn't have been with me." What went down earlier was not what she wanted to happen, but it was done and couldn't be changed now. She didn't want to lose Brooke as her friend, but she wasn't going to stand by and let Brooke tear into her either. She'd never backed down before and she wasn't about to now. If Brooke wanted a fight then she was going to get one. If she got Lucas in the process all the better. Peyton was knocked out of her thoughts by a knock on her bedroom door."Hey, come in."she was glad to see Lucas.

"Hey, I just wanted to stop by and make sure you were okay. Brooke laid into you pretty bad."

"I'm fine. This is what Brooke does when she's angry, she lashes out. She'll get over it. Everything will blow over soon."

"As much as I want to believe you, I just don't think that will happen. She hates us. I don't know what to do to make her forgive me."sighed Lucas.

"Maybe you shouldn't do anything. Give her some time and space. Let her cool down and then try again in a couple of weeks."

"I can't let her cool down for a couple of weeks. If I do that I might lose her. She will think I don't care anymore."

"Or she'll think you care enough to let her have this time to herself."

"I don't know. That just doesn't sound like a good idea."

"Look do what your going to do, but I know Brooke and you need to give her some space."

"I can't do that. I should be going. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for caring Lucas. Your the best."

"No problem. I'll see you at school tomorrow."Lucas wanted to hurry and get out of there. Every time he was with Peyton lately, he felt uncomfortable. He didn't even know why he stopped by to see her to begin with. He guessed it was his guilt for hurting her, it made him feel like he should look out for her so she wouldn't get hurt again. He knew that if Brooke found out about this she would hate him even more than she already did.

After he left Peyton continued to sit at her desk thinking about what she could say happened with Lucas. It had to be good. She needed to keep Brooke mad at him. She smiled when it came to her.

* * *

Brooke walked to her locker and began to put her things away when she heard someone approach."I guess your here to escort me to class?" 

"How did you know it was me?"

"Well I don't have very many friends right now, so I knew it had to be you."

"I hope your not too disappointed."

"With you? No, of course not. If all I have is you, then its more than enough."Brooke smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep hug.

* * *

Lucas turned the corner and witnessed the hug. His jaw clenched as he continued to watch. It looked like they never wanted to pull away from each other. It seemed like every time he saw Brooke she was with Nathan. They were becoming inseparable. He felt like he was slowly being replaced and it killed him to think that she no longer needed him in her life when at this moment he needed her more than anything. He turned back around and walked the way he came he couldn't bare to watch any longer.

* * *

Brooke finally pulled away."Okay now that we got our mushy part of the day over with walk me to class." 

"Sure. So I heard I missed a killer fight yesterday in the gym. I knew I was taking too long in the damn locker room."

"It wasn't a fight really. I just told Peyton what I thought of her and she did the same. I said some more stuff to her and she ran out of the gym. That's it. Nothing happened."

"I still wish I would have seen it."

"Your such an instigator."

"Hey, I wouldn't have instigated, I just wanted to watch."

Brooke laughed."Whatever. So I guess I have some apologizing to do huh?"she closed her locker and they began to walk.

"Who are you planning to apologize to? It better not be Lucas."

"Oh please. Like that is ever going to happen. I did nothing wrong, he did. It's Haley. I've been thinking and you were right. I was too hard on her. Lucas is her best friend, how was she supposed to choose between us? I really hope she accepts my apology."

"Of course she will. Haley is just going to be happy that your talking to her again."

"I hope so. So I guess I should go in. I'll see you after class."

"Sure thing. Good luck."

Brooke laughed."Thanks, bye."she walked into class and saw Haley sitting in her usual seat. She took the seat in front of her and turned to face her."Hey. Look before you say anything, I just want to say I'm sorry for everything I said to you yesterday. I was way out of line. There is no way that you could have made a decision that wouldn't have hurt one of us and Lucas is your best friend so of course you kept his secret."

"No, Brooke you have nothing to apologize for. I deserved everything you said to me and more. You were right. I was a horrible friend to you. I will never forgive myself for keeping this from you. You have to know that I told Lucas everyday that he needed to tell you. I begged them both to. I even had to tell Peyton off a couple of times. She's been acting like a major bitch lately."

"You won't get any arguments from me there. Do you know what she had the nerve to say to me yesterday?"Haley shook her head."She said that if Lucas ever really loved me, he wouldn't have been with her. I wanted to slap her so bad after she said that."

"Why didn't you? I would have."

"Oh believe me I really wanted to, but as much as I wanted to, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. She's been my best friend forever."

"Well she isn't acting like it right now."

" I know, but still, if I actually hit her it's like I'm saying our friendship is over for good and I'm not sure I'm ready to do that."

"Well your more forgiving then I am."

"Hey, I didn't say I was going to forgive her, I'm just not going to hit her, at least not yet."laughed Brooke.

"So what about Lucas?"

"What about him?"shrugged Brooke.

"Come on Brooke, you know what I mean. He's really beating himself up over this. He misses you so much. You should see him when he's at home. He practically stares at the wall for hours just thinking about you."

"I miss him too, but that doesn't change what he did."

"Why don't you just talk to him, hear him out."

"I already did. It didn't change anything. Every time he tells me he loves me, I just want to hit him for doing this to us. I already did once. I couldn't take it. I slapped him. I keep picturing them together and I can't get that image out of my head and it makes me sick to my stomach."

"Well he deserved the slap, but you have to know that he loves you, not her. Right after he said he loved you he went and told Peyton too and nothing has happened between them since."

Brooke pointed at Haley and moved her finger back and fourth as she talked."You see that right there is a lie."

"What?"

"Nathan caught them kissing the other night at his house."

"That's not true. Lucas told me all about it. Peyton kissed him and he pushed her away as Nathan walked in."

"That's what he told me too, but why should I believe that? He's a liar, we all know that."

"Brooke he's not a liar. Yes, he made a huge mistake by being with Peyton and he knows that, but everything else he's told you has been the truth. Besides doesn't Peyton kissing Lucas sound like something she's capable of doing lately?"

"Okay, to be perfectly honest, I do believe him about the whole Peyton kissed him thing, even if I told him I didn't."

"Why did you tell him you didn't believe him?"

"Just because he didn't kiss her that time, doesn't mean he didn't kiss her all the other times. I also didn't want to give him false hope that we'd be okay. I'm not ready to forgive him. I'm not sure I'll ever be."

"But you love him and he loves you."pleaded Haley.

"He still cheated on me Haley."

"He regrets it. All of it. Please just talk to him. Try to work things out. If you don't then you'll regret it. Try thinking about the first time you see him holding another girls hand or kissing her. You'll know you made a mistake by letting him go, but it might be too late then to do anything about it."

Brooke thought about how she'd feel if Lucas did move on and stopped telling her he loved her. She was okay with him thinking she hated him now because he was always trying to get her to talk to him, but she knew that someday he would stop and move on. "I don't know, look I'm not making any promises, but I guess I could try and talk to Luke. I have him for next period, but if I talk to him, you have to talk to Nathan."

"Brooke come on you know I can't."

"You know everything you just said to me."Haley nodded."Well apply it to yourself now. Follow your own advice or you'll regret it."

"Your right. I guess I could talk to him too."

"Good because he also loves you."

"I am so glad your not mad at me anymore. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you to talk to like this."

"Well you'll never have to know now, but one thing though."

"What?"

"Please don't keep anything like this from me again."

"I won't, I promise."

"Good, now I guess we should get to work Tutor Girl. The teacher looks like she wants to kill us."

They both looked at her and started to laugh.

* * *

Haley was taking her own advice like Brooke told her to. She knew she needed to talk to Nathan. She found him walking in the hall. He stopped when he saw her."Hi." 

"Hi."

"Can we talk?"asked Haley.

"I'm on my way to meet Brooke, but I'm sure she'll be okay this one time."

"This one time? What does that mean?"

"I don't want to leave her alone for too long in case Lucas and Peyton decide to gang up on her."

"That's not going to happen. There isn't even a Lucas and Peyton. Lucas wouldn't hurt Brooke like that."

"You mean more than he already has?"

"It was a mistake Nathan. You should know all about those. Lucas is a good guy, whether you like it or not."

"Tell that to Brooke, who can't stand the guy."

"Well I think that's changed."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well when I left her she was on her way to talk to him."

"Like hell she is. Look I have to go."

"Nathan wait. We haven't even talked yet."

"I know and I'm sorry, but I have to find Brooke. I want you to know that I love you Haley and we are going to get through this. I just need to make sure Brooke doesn't make a huge mistake."

"Nathan I love you too. That's what I came to talk to you about. I want us to get passed this too. I know that your sorry for what you did and it hasn't been about that in a really long time."

Nathan leaned in and gave her a quick kiss."I am so happy that you feel that way. I know that we need to talk about this some more, but I really need to find Brooke."

"Nathan leave her alone. If she wants to forgive Lucas then let her. They love each other."

"No, Lucas doesn't love anybody, but himself and maybe Peyton."

"That's not true Nathan. Lucas doesn't want anything to do with Peyton."

"Of course you think that. He's an angel in your eyes. He can do no wrong."

"That also isn't true. I know that what he did to Brooke was wrong. I'm not making any excuses for him, but he does love her. Now I don't want to fight with you about this okay? We just made up."

"I know and I don't want to fight either. Lets just leave it as we disagree on him, now I need to find Brooke. So I have to go, but I'll find you later okay?"he gave her hand a squeeze then turned and was about to walk away.

"Where are you running off to?"

"That's none of your business."

"Oh I think it is, when you never leave my girlfriend's side."

"Brooke's no longer your girlfriend Lucas. So what we do is none of your concern."

"I want you to stay away from her."

"Right, like I'm going to listen to you."laughed Nathan.

"Look I'm trying to work things out with her and all you seem to be doing is telling her to stay away from me."

"Can you blame me? All you have done lately is hurt her and I'm not about to let you do that again."

"Good because I don't plan to."

"You mean like you didn't plan to mess with Peyton behind her back? You can say what you want, but to her you will always be the pathetic jackass who cheated on her."

"I don't have to stand her and listen to this."

"Your right, you don't. I'm leaving. I have to find Brooke."Nathan walked away.

"Lucas you need to stop picking fights with Nathan. He is really good friends with Brooke and your just gonna alienate her even more if you continue to do this."

"I know, but Haley every time I try to talk to her he tries to stop me. I hate him and he hates me. That's never going to change. At least you know better and are staying the hell away from him."

Haley looked down."Lucas about that...um...we're gonna try to work things out. Please don't be mad."

"How can you tell me not to be mad? He lied to you and used you Haley. How you can forgive that, I'll never know."

"Look, he is sorry and he really loves me. Look at you Lucas, you lied and cheated on Brooke with her best friend and you want her to forgive you. So how is this any different? You seriously need to stop being a hypocrite Lucas."

"I just don't want him to hurt you again Hales."

"And he doesn't want you to hurt Brooke again Lucas."

"Fine, I know your right, but I still can't stand him."

"And I don't expect that to change, but don't tell him to stay away from Brooke, if your not willing to stay away from me."

"I know. I was way out of line when I said that. It's not like I expected him to say okay. Can I ask you a question though?"

"Sure."

"What made you change your mind and forgive him?"he needed to know because maybe it could also happen to Brooke.

"Well I was talking to Brooke and she said I should give him another chance, so here I am."

"Wait you were talking to Brooke? Today?"

"Yeah, she apologized for everything she said yesterday and now we're okay."

Lucas sighed."I wish she'd forgive me that easily because if she did, I'd prove to her how much she means to me."

Haley wanted to tell him that Brooke was probably going to give him that chance, but she didn't want to get his hopes up in case she changed her mind."Why don't you go to class and we'll talk about this later."

"I have Brooke next period and we're lab partners. I wonder how that's going to go."

"Just try to talk to her. That's all you can do at this point."

"I'll try. Thanks."

They both walked off to their classes.

* * *

Brooke was on her way to class. She was surprised that Nathan didn't meet her after class or at her locker. He'd been really good about that. She just hoped that he was held up with Haley and that's why he never came. It was good though, she needed this time by herself to think about what she was going to say to Lucas. She told Haley she was going to talk to him and she was. Brooke stopped walking when Peyton approached her."What the hell do you want? Didn't you get enough yesterday?" 

"No, actually, that's why I'm here. I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. It really helped me out."

"Look I really don't have time for this right now, I have someone to talk to, so if you could please get to the point."

"Lucas. He's my point."Brooke stiffened when she heard Peyton say his name."You went off on me in front of him and he came over after practice to make sure I was okay. He said he knew how much of a bitch you can be and he was concerned. He spent hours with me yesterday comforting me. I cried, he hugged and kissed me. We had a great time laughing and talking about you. So I'm here to say thank you Brooke. Yesterday turned out to be a great day and I owe it all to you. So if you ever want to yell at me again, please feel free to, but could you just wait until Lucas is around? It would really help me out. Thanks."Peyton smiled.

Brooke wanted to wipe that smile off of her face so bad."Like I'd really believe a word that came out of that lying mouth of yours. I doubt Lucas went anywhere near you yesterday. Your just a pathetic liar who sounds like you've gone crazy. I bet this whole make out session happened in your head. Lucas doesn't want you. How many times do we have to say it before you'll believe it. He's made it perfectly clear to anyone that will listen, that you were a mistake he wishes with everything he could take back. So please stop throwing yourself at him. Your making yourself look more pathetic then we all think you are."

"I didn't have to throw myself at him, he came to me willingly yesterday, all thanks to you. If you don't believe me you could always ask him yourself. I know you have your next class with him. He might not be as descriptive as me because for some reason he still doesn't want to hurt your feelings."

"Get the hell out of my face Peyton unless you want your next period to come out of your nose."

Peyton walked away with a smile. She was satisfied with the reaction she got out of Brooke. She knew Brooke would ask Lucas if he was with her and once he said yes she would turn cold and not give him the chance to explain. She'd just believe everything she said. She loved knowing Brooke so well. It really came in handy.

Brooke continued to walk to class, now wanting to get there quicker. She needed to know if Peyton was telling the truth. She didn't think so, but with it being Lucas you never know.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. I really love them. 

**Mony19: **Thanks for your last two reviews. They were great. I know how much you love Brathan and if nothing, but friendship happens with them and that's probably gonna happen, you will still get a good amount of them. This has always been a fic about Nathan being there for her when she needs someone. This is more about their friendship than the coupling although that is a close second. I hope you liked this chapter and continue to read. Thanks.

**kinGsFaN: **Thanks for the review. I think that everybody is really loving Nathan and not so much Lucas which I'm not really planning on. I guess I'm writing Lucas as too much of a jerk. I need to stop that.lol. I agree Peyton did deserve everything Brooke said to her and now she deserves even more. Don't you think? I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

**ZoeLuv80:**Thank you for your wonderfully long review. I love reading your reviews. Again I agree with you that Brooke did need someone last season. Brooke does tend to jump to conclusions a lot in my story, but with everything thats been happening she just thinks the worst, but she did let Nathan explain himself. Haley is Lucas' best friend so she will always put that first and it's not that they expect Brooke to forgive him that easily they are just wishing and hoping she will. I agree Brooke should have slapped Peyton after she said that about Lucas, but I explained why she didn't in this chapter. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

**BlueSilverLining:**Thanks for the review. I too love an evil Peyton. Your welcome for the review too. Your stories are great. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

**BRATHAN LOVER:**Thanks for the review. As you can tell this is not a Brathan coupling story, but it is a Brathan friendship story. This story is more about their friendship then the couples. I hope you still continue to read. Thanks.

**crazy:**Thanks for the review. I know Peyton was completely crazy for blaming Brooke for anything. Brooke repeatedly asked Peyton how she felt about Lucas and she continued to lie to her. While Brooke was always open with Peyton on how she felt about Lucas. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

**brucasfanatic:**Thanks again for your in depth review. They really mean a lot to me. It seems like everybody is loving Nathan a lot and disliking Lucas. I swear I'm not intentionally writing him to be a jerk. It just comes out. I guess how much I hated him at this time during the show is seeping out. I really need to watch it or Lucas will be irredeemable.lol. Peyton is a bitch, we all know that. I know Brooke always asked Peyton if she liked Lucas and Peyton always gave her the same answer. No, while Brooke was always up front with Peyton on how much she liked Lucas. She was the first one Brooke told about her little bar deal with Lucas and what does she do? She goes over to his house later and tries to be with him, not caring what her best friend just told her. Some best friend she is. Well I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

**Ali213:**Thanks for you review. I love you two parter by the way! Yes hating Peyton is expected. I bet you hate her even more now huh?lol. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

I really love all my reviewer. I hope you don't mind all my personal thank yous. I can get a little wordy, but I can't help it. I have a lot to say to you guys. I hope you all liked this chapter. I know it took me longer to UD than I normally do, but I made this chapter a little longer than I normally make them. I'm sorry it took so long. I used a line out of the show that I loved. It was when Brooke and Peyton were talking to Niki, but I'm sure you all knew that. So the whole period coming out of your nose line is all the shows writers doing and it was great. Brooke has most of the best lines in the show, don't you think?Isn't Peyton being a bitch? She is such a liar. That should teach Lucas to go and see her. Anyways let me know what you think. Read and review.

**Coming Up:**

Brooke talks to Lucas. (is it because of Haley or Peyton?)

Lucas can't believe what he hears.

Haley tells Brooke how it is.


	12. Switching Partners

**Chapter Twelve**

_**Switching Partners**_

Brooke walked into class and saw that Lucas was already there sitting at their table. She walked up to him and took her seat. She was sitting with her back toward him, but she could feel his eyes burning into her back. She turned to face him and she was right he was staring at her."I guess we should get started."

He continued to look at her."Yeah, I guess we should. What do you want to do?"

"Well I don't want to get dirty, so I'll do all the writing, you do all the chemical stuff."

Lucas nodded and started to gather all the chemicals and test tubes they'd be needing.

Brooke sat there tapping her pencil trying to figure out what she was going to say to him about Peyton. She didn't want to sound like she cared or anything. She couldn't think of anything so she just blurted it out."Lucas were you with Peyton yesterday?"

Lucas looked at her."What?"

"Were you with Peyton yesterday? Did you go see her after practice"

He knew going to her house yesterday was a mistake. He knew that if Brooke found out she would be pissed, but there was no way that he was going to lie to her, not again."Yes. I wanted to make sure she was okay. I mean you did send her running out of the gym."

So Peyton wasn't lying. She was actually telling the truth."She deserved everything I said to her yesterday and more."

"I agree. Everything you've said to the both of us we've deserved."

"Did you two talk about me at all yesterday?"she wanted him to say no, but she knew he wouldn't. Peyton said they laughed and talked about her and she needed to know.

"Yes we talked about you."he was glad she was talking to him, he just wished their first conversation wasn't about him and Peyton. He saw her face turn cold.

"You just can't seem to stay away from her and now your using me as an excuse to go see her. How funny is that?"

"I just wanted to make sure she was okay. You did lay into her pretty thick."

"And your the one who has to be there and comfort her right?"

"Brooke come on it wasn't like that."

"It's never like that with you and Peyton, Lucas, but you two always seem to end up together, no matter who your with. Look I don't care if you want to be with her Lucas, just tell her to stop throwing it in my face. I don't need that and I don't deserve it either."

Lucas was now confused."Brooke what are you talking about? What the hell did she say to you?"

"Nothing, just forget it. It doesn't matter."

"No, I want to know what she said to piss you off so bad."

"Then ask her. I'm going to stay out of this. Both of you just stay the hell away from me."

"Is there a problem here?"asked their teacher.

Brooke looked up at her."Yes there is a problem. I can't work with him any more."

"Just last week you begged me to let you work with him Ms. Davis."

"I know, but now I've changed my mind."

"Well I'm sorry, but it's too late you can't switch partners now."

"I know and I hate to even ask you to, but I just found out that he cheated on me with my best friend in the whole world. I really need to be as far away from him as possible."

Lucas looked down. He couldn't believe Brooke was telling their teacher about their personal lives.

Ms.Kahn shook her head at Lucas."Okay, well I would have to agree with you. Tell Jack to switch with Lucas and Lucas will now work with Kelly."

"Thank you."the teacher nodded and Brooke turned back to Lucas."Well you heard her. Go to your new partner and tell Jack to come over here."

"Brooke you didn't have to do this. We could have worked this out."

"Well you didn't have to have your new girlfriend rub my face in what you two did yesterday and there is no working anything out with you, Lucas."

"She's not my girlfriend, Brooke."

"Whatever."

Lucas got up, not wanting to upset Brooke any more and sent Jack over to her. He couldn't wait to get out of class. He needed to find Peyton and see what exactly she told Brooke to upset her this much. He glanced over at Brooke and she looked like she could care less about him and she probably didn't.

* * *

Nathan stood outside of Brooke's class and waited for her. He frowned when he saw Lucas come out, but then remembered he also had this class. He continued to wait for Brooke until he saw her approach him."What took you so long?" 

"I was thanking Ms. Kahn for something. Sorry. I didn't know you'd be waiting for me, seeing how you ditched me before this class."said Brooke smiling.

"I didn't do it on purpose. I was talking to Haley and I got side tracked."

"I was hoping you'd say that. What did you two talk about?"

Nathan smiled."I think she's forgiven me. We're trying to work things out."

Brooke jumped up excitedly."That's great Nate. I'm so happy for you. I know how much you love her."

"I do. I was a little upset by something she said though."

Brooke looked up at him."What did she say?"

"Just that you were on your way to talk to Lucas. She said you were going to forgive him. Did you?"

"No, I didn't."

Nathan nodded in approval."Good. I was hoping she was wrong."

"Well she wasn't really wrong. I just changed my mind."

"So you were going to talk to him? I don't get it."

"Haley was going to talk to you and I was supposed to talk to Lucas. That was the deal, but Peyton helped me change my mind."

"What did she say now?"asked Nathan with a sigh. She was really starting to get on his nerves.

"That she and Lucas were together yesterday thanks to me. Supposedly he was concerned for her after she ran out of the gym and went to see if she was okay. She said they kissed and talked about how much of a bitch I am."said Brooke shaking her head.

"Do you believe her?"he didn't. As much as he hated Lucas he couldn't picture him ever calling Brooke a bitch.

"I didn't at first, but Lucas said it was all true. So don't worry, there is no way I am forgiving him anytime soon. I even had Ms. Kahn change my lab partner from Lucas. That's why I was late. I was thanking her for doing that."

"I'm sorry he keeps hurting you, but I'm not sorry your staying away from him."he pulled her into a hug.

Whitey approached them."Scott, I need to speak with you, that is if you think you can pull yourself away from the lovely Ms. Davis."

"I'll be right there coach."he turned back to Brooke."I'll find you at lunch. I'm sure this won't take long. Tell Haley where I am okay?"

"Sure thing."Brooke walked in the direction of Haley's locker. She found her stuffing numerous books in."Wow. Is this your locker or the library? What's with all the books?"

"Hey, Brooke. I'm doing a major paper and all these books are for my research."

"Lucky you."said Brooke with a laugh."Are you ready to go because I'm starving."

"Yeah, lets go. I'm pretty hungry myself."

They both walked down the hall arm in arm.

"So I heard you and Nathan are working things out. I'm glad."

"We talked and we're going to take things slow. So tell me about you and Lucas. What happened?"

Brooke turned away."Nothing happened besides a lot of yelling."

"Yelling? I thought you were going to actually talk to him, no yelling."

"I was, but then Peyton told me some stuff and I changed my mind."

"Oh god, what did she have to say now?"she knew it had to be bad. Nothing coming from her these days was good.

"Well apparently Lucas was really concerned about her yesterday after what happened in the gym. He went over to her house and they hugged and made out for hours. Oh, I almost forgot, they also talked about how much of a bitch I am."

"She's lying. Lucas wouldn't go and see her. He wouldn't risk upsetting you like that."

"I thought she was lying too, but I asked Lucas and it turns out it was all true. Peyton actually told the truth."

"Lucas wouldn't talk about you like that Brooke. That I do know."

"He would if he was trying to get on her good side."

"Well I don't believe it at all. So she just offered you all of this information?"

"Yeah, she came up to me in the hall and told me everything. She also had the nerve to thank me for yelling at her yesterday. She said I turned it into the best day for her and in the future if I want to go off on her again to feel free to, just do it in front of Lucas again."

"What is up with her? She's seriously acting like a total bitch."

"Yep, I have to agree with you there. Speaking of the devil, there she is."they both passed her without acknowledging her. They got there lunches and went to sit down at their usual table outside.

"So where is Nathan?"

"Oh, he's talking with Whitey about something. He said he'll be here later. Shoot, I forgot a drink. Do you want anything while I'm up?"

"Sure, Diet Coke please."

"I'll be right back."

Soon after Brooke left Lucas came over."Your eating alone?"

"No, I'm eating with Brooke."said Haley smiling, motioning to the tray of food in front of him."She's getting us something to drink. She'll be right back."

"Well I better hurry then. Have you seen Peyton?"

Haley's smile fell."You just don't learn do you? I mean can you stay away from her for five minutes?"

"I just need to talk to her, that's it."

"Do you know what she's been telling Brooke? Or do you not care?"

"Of course I care, but I have no idea what she's telling Brooke. That's the reason I need to find her. Brooke came to class earlier ready to kill me. She said something about Peyton throwing our relationship in her face. I asked her what she said, but she wouldn't tell me. She said she was staying out of it. So now I need to find Peyton. I'll make her tell me."

"Well I'll tell you what she said, Brooke told me all about it."

"Okay, what did she say?"asked Lucas eagerly.

"Well I guess Brooke was walking to class when Peyton stopped her. She thanked her for what happened in the gym yesterday."

Lucas interrupted her."She thanked her? Why?"

"Because it made you concerned for her. I guess you went over to see her yesterday?"Lucas nodded."I don't know what exactly happened, but she said you two made out for hours and then talked about how much of a bitch Brooke has become. She also told Brooke that if she was going to yell at her again to do it in front of you."

"I can't believe Peyton would say all of that. Like I would ever talk about Brooke like that."

"Well believe it. Brooke has no reason to lie about this."

"No, I know she wouldn't. I was at Peyton's house for about ten minutes. I wanted to make sure she was okay because she ran off after what happened with her and Brooke. I didn't even fully step foot into her room. I stood by the door the whole time."

"Well she tells a completely different story."

"She's lying. I didn't touch her at all, let alone make out with her for hours. I can't believe she would set out to tell Brooke all of these lies. It's like she's trying to keep us from working this out."he shook his head.

"That's exactly what she's trying to do Lucas. She wants you to be with her, so she's trying to keep Brooke mad at you."

Lucas looked down remembering his conversation with Peyton."She did try and tell me to give Brooke some space for a couple of weeks. I can't believe I didn't see this before."

"Neither can I."

Lucas shot her a dirty look.

"Sorry."

"I guess I just felt bad for hurting her and I didn't see what she was really doing. I wonder if she knew that Nathan was coming over that night she kissed me in my room."

"I wouldn't put it passed her."

Lucas jumped up."I have to find Peyton."

"Don't let me stop you."

He turned to see Brooke standing behind him. He cursed himself. Brooke always did have perfect timing."It's not like that Brooke."

"You keep saying that. Look like I said earlier, I don't care what you do. I just don't want to hear about it."

"Brooke I just need to talk to her that's all."

"I don't need any explanations Luke. I'm not your girlfriend any more remember?"she pushed him aside and took her seat.

"How can I forget. I'll see you later Hales."

"Okay. Oh hey, Peyton was out in front of the cafeteria earlier. Come find me when your done."

"Sure. Thanks."Lucas left and Brooke looked at Haley."Can you believe him?"she asked shaking her head.

"I can't believe you, Brooke."

"What did I do?"asked Brooke confused.

"You keep yelling at him without letting him explain."

"I don't need any explanations. He wants Peyton, enough said."

"He doesn't want Peyton. You only caught the last sentence of our conversation. You have no idea why he needs to find her."

"I'm sure it's just to finish their make out session."

"No, your wrong again. It's to tell her off. Do you honestly think I would send him to her if it was for anything else? He's sick and tired of her lies. Everything she told you earlier was a lie Brooke. Lucas said he was at Peyton's house for about ten minutes and never even stepped foot in her room, let alone called you anything. He also said she tried to get him to stay away from you for a couple of weeks. She's just trying to keep you two part and you can't let her Brooke."

Brooke placed her head in her hands."So because she lied about this, I should go running back to Lucas? I don't think so. Do you see how easy it was for me to believe this? That means I don't trust him and with good reason. So if I don't trust him, how can I be with him?"

"I don't know. Maybe if you two became friends again in time you'd find yourself trusting him."

"I can't. It's too hard being around him and not being with him."she sighed."I put on this act when he's around, like I don't care, like I hate him. I make all these stupid, sarcastic, hateful comments, but inside I just want to cry when I see him. I love him so much. The best thing for me is to stay away from him completely. He hurt me and I can't get over that. I doubt I ever will."

Haley looked over at her friend and felt all of her pain. As much as she wanted Brooke to forgive Lucas, she understood why she couldn't. Lucas did something unforgivable and now they both were paying the consequences. She now saw that Brooke was moving further away from Lucas and it was just sad that two people who loved each other so much couldn't be together.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. They were great. 

**BlueSilverLining:**Thanks for the review. And thank you for the awesome compliment. Your great! I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

**Elizabeth:**Thanks for the review. I'm really glad your liking this story. Thanks.

**crazy:**Thanks for the review. I think It's easy for Peyton to be a bitch. At least it's easy for me to write her as one. I just have to remember her at this time in the show and I remember how much I hated her. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

**Mony19:**Thanks for the review. I hope your not too upset that Haley and Nathan are back together. I had Haley stand up for Nathan because Lucas needed to see that he was being ridiculous. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

**kinGsFaN:**Thanks for the review. Yes Peyton is a liar, but she's good at it. She just didn't think it through too much. Maybe next time she'll be better at it.lol. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks.

**Ali213:**Thanks for the review. I always love to read what you have to say. I knew you'd be hating Peyton more. She is so easy to hate. I agree Haley was pretty great in that chapter. She's not too bad in this one either. I need to remember her this way because I'm not liking her so much in the show right now. I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

I hope you all liked this chapter. Lucas is finally wising up to what Peyton is doing. It's about time, I know. I also had some Brooke and Haley bonding with Haley giving Brooke a piece of her mind. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks.

**Coming Up:**

Lucas sees Peyton.

Peyton tries to flirt with Lucas.

Nathan sees everything.


	13. The Arguments

**Chapter Thirteen**

_**The Arguments**_

Lucas walked through the cafeteria doors and found Peyton right where Haley said he would. She was talking to a few girls he recognized from the squad. He quickly walked up to her and saw her face light up."Peyton we need to talk."he said coldly.

Peyton continued to smile at him, not seeing the seriousness on his face."Sure thing Luke, lets go somewhere."he turned and walked away. She turned to the group of girls and smiled."Wish me luck."she walked off to catch up with Lucas.

The girls were left confused. They all could see that Lucas didn't look happy to see her and didn't know how Peyton couldn't see it.

Lucas stopped a few feet away from the open gym door. He turned to face Peyton.

Peyton stopped a few inches away from him and looked into his eyes."So what was so important that you needed to talk to me about it in private?"she asked cocking up one eyebrow.

Lucas looked at her confused."Your the one who wanted to talk somewhere else. I would have done it over there."

"I know."she placed her hand on his upper arm and gently stroked it.

* * *

Nathan was about to leave the gym when he heard voiced coming from the hallway. He walked closer and saw that the voices were coming from Lucas and Peyton. To him this looked like they were trying to meet in private. His jaw clenched when he saw Peyton start to touch him. He couldn't believe that after all the times Lucas swore that he loved Brooke, he was now here with Peyton. He continued to watch not caring if they saw him. He was surprised when he saw Lucas push Peyton away from him.

* * *

Lucas placed his hand on hers and pulled her hand from his arm."Peyton you have to stop this. Stop touching me like this. I didn't ask you to and I don't want it either. I don't know how many times I have to tell you, but I want to be with Brooke. I don't want to be harsh, but I don't think your getting it." 

What he said hurt, but she quickly recovered."I get it Lucas, but I see how much your hurting and alone right now because of her and I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you. I can be very good at making people feel less lonely."she looked up at him with what she thought was a sexy grin, but he only saw as her looking ridiculous.

"Do you hear yourself Peyton? Your practically throwing yourself at me, even after I just told you to stop."

Peyton laughed."I find it funny that you keep saying how much you want someone who can't stand you right now. She's never gonna forgive you Lucas, no matter what you say or do."

"Your probably right, but she's also never going to forgive me if you keep telling her lies about me. Did you think that I wouldn't find out what you said to her?"

"I knew you would Lucas. I was planning on telling you myself. I did it for you. I figured that if she thought you were moving on with me, she would want you back. I still think that it can work."

"Peyton your delusional. There's no way that would work or that I'd even try it. Look I don't want to talk about this anymore. I just want you to stay away from Brooke. Stop telling her all these lies about me. We are never going to be together. Everything we did was a mistake that I wish to god I could take back everyday. I wish you understood that."

"I do understand that. You keep saying how I was a mistake and you wish you could take it back, but I don't. I love you Lucas. I always have. Do you know how hard it is to be kissing you one day and planning to be with you then have to listen to your best friend gush about how much you love her the next? I don't think you do. It hurts. It's a pain you can never get rid of."

Lucas' face softened slightly."I'm sorry for what I did to you Peyton. I guess I never really saw this from your point of view. I wish I could change things, but I can't. Everything you just said doesn't make it alright to lie about me to Brooke though. We've done enough of that to her don't you think? We should be trying to make it up to her, but instead you trying to hurt her. It's like you want her to hate you."

"I just hate that she always gets what she wants and I never do. Every guy that I've liked always wants her. Nathan was in love with her and because she turned him down, he had to settle for me. I could always tell that he really wanted her when he was with me and then there was you. I thought we had this deep connection, but then when it was up to you to make a choice you chose her. Later you led me to believe you wanted me only to go and tell her how much you love her. So please excuse me if I'm a little bitter about this."

"Look I don't want to sound like an insensitive jerk or anything, but just because you have those feelings doesn't give you the right to try and ruin everything Brooke has."

"Brooke this, Brooke that. I am sick and tired of hearing about Brooke."she shouted. "Can't you get her out of your head for five minutes? She's not worth it Lucas. I wish you could see that. Brooke doesn't do relationships. She's the type of girl that lets guys fuck her for the fun of it. That's all she's good for, that's all she'll ever be good for. She's an easy lay Lucas, but I guess you already know that."

Nathan couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't stand there and let Peyton talk about Brooke like that. He started to walk forward, but stopped when he heard Lucas speak. He wanted to know what he would say to this.

"Peyton shut the hell up. She's supposed to be your best friend, but here you are talking about her like this. Obviously you don't know her like we all thought you did."

"And you do?"

"Yeah, I do. She is so much more than that. I have never met anyone more caring than her. She always puts others first and herself last. She loves with her whole heart and because of that she is loved back. You call her a slut, but your the one who keeps throwing yourself at me even though I repeatedly tell you I'm not interested. Now I have been nice to you and because of the fact that I hurt you and felt guilty about it I wasn't able to see what you were doing, but not anymore. I am not going to give you any more ammunition to lie to Brooke with. You need to stay the hell away from her and me from now on."he didn't know if he was too harsh, but he didn't care. It felt good to tell Peyton off after everything she said about Brooke. There was no way he was going to let anyone talk about her like that.

Peyton opened her mouth to say something, but shut it when she heard Nathan.

"I'd save it if I were you. I don't think he wants to hear anything more you have to say. I think it would be best for you if you left. We don't want to see what Lucas does when he's really angry."said Nathan with a laugh.

Peyton looked at Lucas one last time. He stared back at her with a cold expression on his face. She turned and walked away.

Nathan turned to look at Lucas once she was out of sight, Lucas in return looked toward him too.

"I'm surprised, you handled that pretty well. I assume this was because of what she told Brooke earlier."

"Yeah, Haley told me all about it and I had to put a stop to it."

"You know as much as I hate you and believe me I do, I never thought you'd call Brooke a bitch, so I knew it wasn't true."

"It wasn't. I wouldn't even think that about her."

"That's good because if you did, I'd have to kick your ass."

"And you'd enjoy doing it right?"Lucas finished for him.

"That's right. Brooke's been hurt enough by the two of you and I'm not going to let that continue to happen."

"I don't expect you to believe me, but I would never hurt her like that again. I love her too much."

We'll see. Look I really appreciate what you said about Brooke and how you shut Peyton up. She went too far with everything she said. I kinda wish Brooke would have heard everything though. She would have shut her up in a completely different way. It definitely would have been entertaining."laughed Nathan.

"Yeah, I bet she would have. Brooke is pretty feisty, but she really didn't need to hear all of that."

"That's true, but I have to tell her though. She has the right to know what someone is saying about her and right now keeping things from her is not a smart thing to do."

"Your right. So what were you doing here besides eavesdropping?"

"I wasn't eavesdropping at first. Whitey made me come down here. He said he knows we hate each other, but we still need to work together. I didn't want to agree, but he made me. He said he'd bench both of us if we didn't agree to it."

"What the hell are we supposed to work on together?"asked Lucas a little frustrated at the idea of doing anything with Nathan.

"Coach says I need to work with you on how to drive the ball to the net and you need to work with me on how to create open space to shoot when I'm being double and triple teamed."

"Well you do suck at that."

"Well you suck at driving the ball to the net."

"Then I guess we could both use a little help."

"That's what Whitey said."

Lucas grabbed the ball from Nathan's hands and drove the ball to the net."Looks like I don't need help after all, but you still do."

Nathan ran over to him."Oh yeah? Try that now."

Lucas tried to get the the net, but Nathan blocked him every time. Lucas took a few steps back and shot the ball. It went in.

"We already know you can do that. So it looks like your going to need my help after all."

"Whatever."he rolled his eyes. Nathan was right and he hated it.

They played for a while and showed each other what the other one needed to know.

"Well, well, well, now how is it that I knew exactly where to find you Natey Boy?"asked Brooke before she realized Lucas was also there."What is he doing here and why are you hanging out with him Nathan?"Brooke was now confused. This was the last thing she ever thought she'd see.

Nathan dropped the ball and ran over to her."Look I'm not hanging out with him."

"Really because it looks like that to me."

"This is all Whitey's idea. He thinks I need help on creating space to take open shots and Lucas needs help driving the ball to the rack."

Brooke just stared at him."Okay, I'm not even going to pretend I know what you just said."Nathan and Lucas both laughed causing Brooke to turn in Lucas' direction. She smiled at him."So did you ever find your girlfriend?"

Lucas shook his head. There was nothing he could say to make her believe him anyways.

"Brooke, come on stop."

She turned back to Nathan."I can't believe this. You spend ten minutes with him and now your defending him like he's your new best friend. What's going on Nate?"

"Look, I should go. We'll work some more tomorrow Nathan."

"Yeah, whatever. See ya."

Lucas grabbed his stuff and left the gym.

"Okay, now are you going to tell me what alternate universe we're in right now?"

"Brooke your acting like I committed a crime or something."

"I just find it funny that not too long ago you practically forbid me to talk to him and now I see you being all buddy, buddy, with him. You wouldn't even let me say anything to him."

"I'm just doing what Whitey told me to. Nothing more. He said if I didn't work with Lucas to improve my game he'd bench me and I'm not going to let that happen. So if spending some time with Lucas is going to keep me in the game, then that's what I'm going to do. This in no way means we're friends. I still hate him and want you to stay away from him."

"It was just really weird to walk in and see you two together."

"I know and don't worry it's not going to become a habit."

Brooke laughed."It better not. I don't want Lucas to start rubbing off on you. Wow, I never thought I'd say that. Normally your the one who shouldn't be rubbing off on people."

"Thanks Brooke. At least now I know what you think of me."

"Hey, you know it's the truth. You used to be known as The Bad Boy of Tree Hill. Haley sure has changed you."

Nathan laughed.

"So when you found Lucas was he with Peyton? God I don't even know why I care."she sighed.

"Neither do I, but yes they were together."Brooke shook her head. _Of course they were_."As shocking as it is, it wasn't for the reasons we would have thought."

"Haley did say he wanted to yell at her or something for lying to me, but I wasn't convinced. Did he?"

"Oh, he did that and then some. I was actually surprised at him. It made me hate him a little less."

"Wow, well now I'm curious. What did he do?"

"Nothing really he just stood up to Peyton when she said some pretty bad things about you."

"What did she say?"

"You don't really need to know all of that."

"What did she say?"repeated Brooke.

"Fine, she said that your not into relationships. You like to sleep with random guys for the fun of it and your not worth all the time Lucas spends thinking about you. Just stuff like that, although her version wasn't as clean as mine."

"She is such a bitch. She is basically calling me a no good, worthless, slut."

"Yeah, well Lucas pretty much told her that she was the slut who kept throwing herself at him after he repeatedly told her he didn't want her."

"Lucas really said all that?"she asked as her face softened.

"Yes."

"What else did he say?"

"I don't think I should tell you. I don't want you thinking about forgiving him."

"Nathan don't be ridiculous. I'm not going to forgive him just because he said a few nice things about me. I just want to know what he said."

Nathan sighed. He knew he should tell her everything."He said you were the best person he knew, who had the biggest heart and always put others before yourself and he loved you for it."

"Well if I didn't hate him so much, I might just fall in love with him all over again."

"You see that's why I didn't want to tell you. You still need to stay away from him Brooke. He's still the one who cheated on you."

"I know, it's just good to know that he loves me and that there's no way he wants to go back to Peyton."

"I guess that is good news."said Nathan sarcastically.

* * *

Brooke was on her way to practice when she saw Peyton walk into the locker room. She quickly went in after her. She knew she should be the bigger person and leave it alone, but not this time. Peyton went to far."Hey, Peyton." 

Peyton stopped walking when she heard Brooke call out to her."Brooke what do you want? I don't have time for this right now."

"Oh, really? You don't have time to talk to me? It's funny because earlier you had all the time in the world to come up to me and tell me all of those lies. So where are you rushing off to? Another fantasy make out session with Lucas? Or has he finally been able to convince you that even your fantasy of him is not interested in you?"she smiled at her, the same smile Peyton gave her earlier that day.

"Brooke you can believe what you want, but only Lucas and I know what really happened yesterday and if for some reason he wants you to think it was nothing, then okay, I lied. Nothing happened."

"You don't honestly think I'm going to fall for that, do you? Nathan heard the whole conversation you and Lucas had earlier. So you can keep your lies to yourself. Nobody believes a word that comes out of your mouth anymore."

"You think you are so smart, don't you? I was only doing you a favor."

Brooke laughed."Oh please, do tell me how."

"Well I know that Lucas keeps leading you on and making you think he wants you back, when in reality it's me he wants. He feels really guilty for hurting you and knows how much you love him. He thinks that if he's with you even though he doesn't want to be, it will make up for everything he did. He's willing to do anything to get rid of that guilt. I don't agree with what he's doing and you've been hurt by him already. I don't want you to take him back and then in a month or so when he can't take being with you anymore he hurts you again by being with me."

Brooke placed her hand on her heart."I'm touched Peyt. You've become a lying bitch for me. Wow. I mean a minute ago you wanted me think you and Lucas were still together yesterday, but now that you know I know it's not true, your saying you lied to help me out."

"Whatever Brooke."said Peyton as she turned to walk away.

Brooke walked up to her and grabbed her arm and forcefully turned her back to face her."I'm not done with you yet."Peyton pulled free from Brooke's grasp."If you have anything to say about me, say it to me, not to Lucas behind my back, but keep your lies to yourself."

"If by lies your referring to calling you a worthless slut then, those aren't lies at all. Come on Brooke, everybody in here knows how much of a slut you are. Hell just ask the basketball team, you've slept with more then half of them. It's no secret and Lucas deserved to know that if he hadn't of cheated on you, you would have done it to him."

Brooke couldn't take it anymore. She'd let Peyton go before, but not again. She lifted up her hand and slapped Peyton clear across the face. The sound echoed throughout the locker room.

Peyton placed her hand over her cheek and held it. She never thought that Brooke would hit her. Her shock wore off and she tried to lunge at Brooke, but was held back by a couple of the girls that had been watching everything."Peyton knock it off. You know that if Brooke gets her hands on you you'll regret it."said Theresa, who was still holding her.

"I don't think so."shouted Peyton.

"Let her go."said Brooke. Theresa hesitated, but she and Kelly did as she asked."She's not worth it. You know I may have been a slut, but I was and always will be a better person than you. Just ask Lucas. Oh, that's right, you can't. He told you to stay the hell away from him and if you haven't already guessed, your off the squad. Now get out."

"You can't do that."

"I just did. You and I both know I have the authority to kick anyone I want off."

"We'll see."said Peyton as she walked away."

"Yeah, we will."Brooke went to her locker and started to change.

Theresa and Kelly ran out of the locker room and into the gym and up to Bevin."Hey you totally missed it."screeched Theresa.

"Missed what?"

"Brooke and Peyton just had it out in the locker room."said Kelly.

"Are you serious?"asked Bevin.

"Brooke slapped her hard and then kicked her off of the squad. It was pretty awesome, well not for Peyton."laughed Theresa.

"Well good for Brooke. If I was her I would have done more than just slap Peyton."all three girls walked off to tell everybody else what happened.

Lucas watched them walk off. He heard everything they said and couldn't believe it. This was the last thing he wanted. He didn't want thing to get to be physical with them, but now they had. He knew Brooke and if she slapped Peyton she had to have deserved it. She was the last one to get physical with anybody, so he knew Peyton had to have asked for it especially if she had said any of the things to Brooke she had said to him earlier. He shook his head and went to get a ball to start practice.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all of the reviews. 

**KinGsFan:**Thanks for the review. Your right, Brooke isn't giving him a chance, but he really screwed up. I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

**ZoeLuv80:**Thanks for your last two reviews. They were great. I hope you do well on your finals! I'm glad to hear that my story is a stress buster for you. I feel the same way about writing it. You were right Lucas was being stupid and he did deserve what Peyton did to him, but I think he's wising up now. Your also right that Brooke doesn't really trust Lucas and she knows it. She's starting to believe he really loves her and that is a start right? Now I can't tell you when Kieth and Karen will be making an appearance yet because I'm not sure myself, but I do have something planned for them, but Karen is still out of the country. It will be coming up though. I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

**crazy:**Thanks for the review. Yes I know, Peyton is a liar and I hate her too. I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

**brucasfanatic:**Thanks for the review. I really loved it. It made me laugh. I hope you finally got some sleep.lol. So yep, Peyton is a bitch. Having her admitted is a great idea. I'll have to see if I can fit it into my story.lol. I really hope it was the story that gave you the goosebumps and not the open window.lol. And yes Lucas is being dense, but I think he's wising up a bit now. I really love your reviews and look forward to the next one. I hope you liked this chapter. I don't really know how I feel about it so let me know what you think. Thanks.

**Mrs O-Town:**Thank you very much for the review. I have to tell you that it is and honor getting a review from you and knowing that you've read my story. I am totally in love with everything you write. Thanks again for the review.

**BlueSilverLining:**Yes Brooke and Nathan don't really let anyone explain which causes problems. It's a good thing that he stuck around to hear every thing that happened with Lucas and Peyton. I debated having him leave when he saw Peyton touch Lucas, but in the end he saw that maybe, just maybe Lucas really does love Brooke. I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

**gannongrl: **Thanks for the review. I don't know if you'll get this thanks, seeing how you probably stopped reading because your not a Brucas fan, but it really means a lot that you took time to let me know what you thought even though you don't like Brucas. So thanks again.

Thanks again to everybody who reviewed and even to those who just read the story without reviewing although I'm hoping you all review. This was a hard chapter for me to write. I wanted Lucas to be cruel to Peyton because she deserves it, but I didn't want to make him really out of character. So I did the best that I could. I also had a hard time with the Brooke and Peyton argument. Brooke finally slapped Peyton. I didn't know if I should have had her do that, but in the end she did. I also had the Lucas and Nathan scene in there that I wasn't sure how to write. They hate each other so it was hard for me to write them getting along. Please let me know what you all think about this chapter. I think it is my worse so far. Do you think it would be a good idea to have Lucas and Nathan kinda get along or should I keep them hating each other. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks. Oh I just wanted to say I used a couple of one liners from the show. I'm sure you know which ones. Those were all courtesy of the writers.

**Coming Up:**

Brucas filled chapter.

Brooke is in trouble.

Brooke gets a craving.


	14. You Don't Know How Happy I Am To See You

**Chapter Fourteen**

_**You Don't Know How Happy I Am To See You**_

Brooke was driving home after practice when her car made a noise. She was able to pull to the side of the road before the car came to a complete stop."Shit. Just my luck."she got out of her car and pulled open the hood. She didn't have a clue as to what she was doing, but every time a car broke down on T.V. they always looked under the hood. She didn't see or smell anything weird so she hoped that was a good sign. She walked back over and tried to start it one more time. Nothing happened. She got out and kicked the tire. She'd also seen that on T.V.

"What'd the car do to you Little Lady?"

Brooke turned around startled, she hadn't heard anyone stop. She looked the man over and didn't know what it was, but something about him gave her the creeps. She wanted him to leave, but she also knew she needed help."Hi, my damn car broke down and I don't know what's wrong with it."she smiled at him.

He smiled back at her with his eyes roaming over her body and landing on her breasts.

Brooke notice his eyes moving along her body and cursed herself for not bothering to change after practice. There she stood in front of this creepy stranger, who wouldn't stop staring at her, in only a tight pink tank top and little black practice shorts.

"Well sweetie it looks like you are in desperate need of some help and I don't know a damn thing about cars, so all I can do is offer you a ride. Why don't you hop in. I'll take you where ever you want to go. Just get into my car."

Brooke knew she needed help, but there was no way she was getting into a car with that guy. He sounded way too eager to get her into his car and he wouldn't stop staring at her breasts. She had never felt this uncomfortable before. She knew she needed to get him to leave."You know I really appreciate the offer, but no thanks. I'll be okay."

The man took a deep breath and let it out."Why don't you just get into the car. I just want to help you."

"I know and thank you for the offer, but really I'll be fine. You should go."

"I can't leave you alone on the side of the road. It's not safe."he took a couple of steps forward.

Brooke took a few steps back when he started walking toward her and soon felt her back hit the car. She felt trapped when he continued to walk toward her. That uncomfortable feeling she felt earlier had now turned to fear. She knew if she ran he would be able to catch her. She quickly inched her way to her car door. Maybe she was wrong and was being scared for nothing.

"What are you trying to do sweetheart? Sit in your car? You'll never get help if you do that."

Brooke's hand finally reached the handle. She wanted to get into the safety of her car, but she froze when he stood directly in front of her. He was breathing hard and she could smell his sour breath.

"You should get into my car so I can take you home."

Brooke found her voice."No...it's okay. I'll be fine. I called my boyfriend earlier. He should be here soon."

The man laughed."You didn't mention calling a boyfriend earlier. How come I don't believe you?"

Brooke didn't know what to say. She just wanted him to leave.

"Brooke."

She turned to see who called her name. She had never been happier to see him in her whole life. She quickly ran to him and wrapped her her arms around his waist.

He wrapped his arms around her too, not knowing what else to do. He looked down at her and then to the strange looking man. He had a weird expression on his face, it looked a little like disappointment to him.

"Well it looks like that boyfriend of yours showed up. I guess you won't be needing my help today after all. I'll be on my way. Good luck with the car sweetheart."

Brooke never lifted her head from his chest to look in the mans direction. Once she heard the mans car start and then drive away she let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

He looked down at her and and gave her a light squeeze."Hey, are you okay?"

She looked up at him."You don't know how happy I am to see you Lucas."

Lucas smiled."You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that, but what's going on Brooke. I've never seen you like this."

Brooke finally let go of Lucas. She removed her arms from his waist."Well I've never almost been kidnapped before."

"What? What the hell did that bastard do to you?"he balled his hands into fists and started pacing.

"He didn't do anything to me exactly. You showed up before anything happened, but I think that he was about to grab me and stick me in his car."

"He was standing awfully close to you. I didn't like it. What were you doing out here anyways?"

"My car broke down and when I got out I guess I didn't hear him stop, but he called out to me. Right away I got this bad feeling. He wouldn't stop staring at me. Then he kept saying that I needed to get into his car. I kept telling him no, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. I was going to try and get into my car, but he walked up to me and I froze. I told him I called my boyfriend and he practically called me a liar and that's when you showed up. I was so scared Luke."

He walked up to her and pulled her into a hug."It's okay now. Your safe. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise."

Brooke pulled out of his grasp."I know, everything is fine now. I'm just over reacting."She just wanted to forget all about this. She walked up to her car and looked in the hood. Lucas followed.

"What are you doing? Do you even know what your looking for?"

Brooke looked at him like he was crazy."No, but now your here. Look at it and tell me what's wrong."

Lucas looked at her. He wanted to make her feel better."Did you get the hood up all by yourself?"Brooke nodded."Wow, I'm impressed. Your not completely hopeless."Brooke playfully hit him in the chest."Hey, that hurt."

"God, you and your brother are such wimps. If the guys on the team could hear you when I barely tap you."

"Brooke, that was no tap and don't call him my brother."

Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Seriously though, I just had your car checked a week ago and it was fine."

"So what does that mean? Something could have gone wrong with it this past week."

"That's true, but I have a feeling that it's something a little simpler."

"Like what?"

"Like I bet all you need is some gas. Whens the last time you filled up your tank?"

She bit her bottom lip."I haven't. You were the last one to do that."

"Brooke I haven't put gas in you car in a long time."he shook his head."That has to be it."

"Whatever. Will you take me to get some?"

"Sure lets go."

"Okay, just wait one second. I need to get something from my car. She went to the front seat and opened her gym bag and grabbed a pair of sweats. She put them on by the side of her car and turned around to see Lucas shaking his head at her."What? It's not like I took off my shorts first. There is no way I could have gone to the store in those little bitty shorts."

He laughed. There was no way he would let that happen either.

They sat in the car driving in silence until Lucas couldn't take it anymore."Are you okay? I mean, I know that guy must have really freaked you out."

"I'm fine. He really did scare the hell out of me, but you showed up and made him leave. Thank you for that Lucas."

"No problem. I'm just glad I was driving by."

She placed her hand on his and smiled at him.

* * *

They arrived at the nearest gas station and he pulled to a stop."Will you be okay in here by yourself?"he didn't want to leave her alone if she wasn't comfortable with it, even if it was only for a few minutes. 

Brooke rolled her eyes at him."Lucas I'm fine. Stop worrying about me, but I will go in with you though. I'm kinda thirsty."

"I will never stop worrying about you Brooke, so don't bother asking me to."

She smiled at him and got out of the car. Lucas went straight up to the cashier while Brooke went to the candy section. She wasn't hungry, but right now she was really craving chocolate. She held three candies in her hand and couldn't decide what she wanted so she took all three, a Twix, Snicker, and an Almond Joy.

Lucas walked up to her."Are you going to take all of those?"

Brooke looked down at her hand."Yes. Do you have a problem with it?"

Lucas raised his hands in defense."No, not at all, it's just do you really need three candy bars Brooke?"

Brooke gave him an evil look."Is this your way of saying that you think I'm fat?"

Lucas' eyes widened. That was the last thing he was thinking."What? No Brooke, I don't think your fat. I'm just saying three candy bars is a lot and I doubt you'll eat them."

"Your probably right, but I don't know what I'm in the mood for and rather than spend forever here trying to decide, I'm taking everything."

"Well I guess that's smart. So I got the gas. Are you about ready?"

"Yeah, just give me a second."she disappeared to the back of the store and then reappeared with a soda in her hand. She waved it at him."It's diet, since I know you think I'm fat."she smiled at him.

Lucas laughed and took everything from her. While at the counter Brooke also decided she wanted a bag of Doritos and a pack of Juicy Fruit. Lucas shook his head at the additions she set on the counter. He took out his wallet and paid for everything.

Lucas handed her her bag of junk and the two walked out of the store.

"Did you really need all of that Brooke?"

"Probably not, but I have a craving for something and I don't know what it is quite yet. All these things sound good."she waved the bag around."But I doubt what I want is in this bag. Besides I no longer have a boyfriend, so if I want to pig out for an afternoon, after almost getting kidnapped, then I will."

Lucas turned away. He should have known that this would come up." Look Brooke I'm really..."he was quickly cut off.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Your really sorry. I've heard it all before and I don't care Lucas."she quickly got into the truck. The comfortableness was now gone.

They drove for a while in silence, Lucas decided to ask the question he knew he shouldn't."Look I know I probably shouldn't ask, but I heard about what happened with Peyton in the locker room. Are you okay?"

"Your right, you shouldn't ask, but I'm fine and nothing really happened. She called me a slut and I slapped her, end of story. She's not the same person she used to be and I'm no longer going to act like she is."she didn't want to talk about this, especially with him, so she turned and looked out the window.

Lucas knew he should drop it. She obviously didn't want to talk about it anymore so he wasn't about to make her.

* * *

They were about to pass the local ice cream shop when he heard Brooke sigh. He turned to look at her and saw her longingly looking at the big cone on the roof of the store."Do you want me to stop and get you some ice cream?" 

Brooke turned in her seat with a huge smile plastered on her face. He couldn't help, but smile back. She looked so much like a little kid right now.

"Would you Lucas? I think this is exactly what I'm craving, chocolate ice cream. I must be getting my period or something."

Lucas laughed."Thanks Brooke. That's exactly what I wanted to hear right now."

Brooke looked at him sheepishly and shrugged her shoulders. She hadn't realized what she said until it was said."Sorry, I didn't mean to gross you out or anything, but it would explain my sudden chocolate cravings."

"Again, I don't need to know any of that."he stopped the car and they both got out. He held open the store door for Brooke and once they were in she ran to the display of ice creams."Well what kind do you want?"

"I don't know what it's called, but..."she pointed through the glass display."The chocolate one with the brownie pieces."

The young guy behind the counter came up to help them."That right there is Double Chocolate Brownie Surprise."

Brooke looked at it longingly."What is the surprise?"

The guy looked at her and then to Lucas."I don't know. I never thought to ask. I'm new, let me find out for you."

Brooke looked up at him and laughed. He looked mortified, like he'd just flunked a test."No, no, it's okay. It was just a question. I'll have two scoops of it please. Thank you."she turned to Lucas."What about you Broody?"

"I'll just have two scoops of Vanilla."

Brooke scoffed at him."Don't you ever take a chance, you know walk on the wild side? Does it always have to be Vanilla with you?"

"Hey, I know what I want."

Brooke turned away, remembering the last time he said that to her. He followed it by saying, _and it's you._

Lucas noticed the look on her face before she turned away and knew exactly what she was thinking about. Not long ago he said those exact words to her and he wasn't talking about ice cream. "_Wow it was only days ago, but it felt like forever ago."_he thought to himself. He knew he should say something."Besides your daring enough for the both of us. I mean Double Chocolate Brownie Surprise, and you don't even know what the surprise is. Is all that chocolate really necessary?"

Brooke smiled at him, happy that he lightened the mood."Hey sometimes a girls gotta have her chocolate."

"Especially during that time of the month right?"

The young guy behind the counter looked at them shocked by their conversation as he handed them their ice cream. They couldn't help, but laugh. Brooke always loved shocking people.

* * *

After they finished their ice cream Lucas drove them back to her car and filled up her tank. When he was done he held up and extra tank to her."So you don't have this problem again."he opened her trunk and put it in."I wouldn't want you to actually get kidnapped next time."he smiled at her. 

Brooke playfully hit him in the shoulder."Hey don't joke about that. It was serious."

He stopped smiling."I know. I'm sorry, but I would feel sorry for the guy, if he had kidnapped you. Having to listen to you talk non-stop, I bet within the hour, he'd be giving you back."Lucas laughed.

Brooke ran up to him and tried to hit him again, but he was able to stop her this time. He ended up grabbing both of her wrists, causing her body to crash into his. Their smiles both disappeared as they realized how close they were to each other. She was about to pull away when he leaned in capturing her lips in a searing kiss.

She wanted to pull away and she knew she should, but for the life of her she couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew it was wrong, but at the same time it felt so right. While all those thoughts floated around in her head, she felt her body move to it's own accord. Her arms wrapped around his neck bringing him closer to her. It hadn't been that long since they were together, but it sure felt like forever. She moaned into his mouth as he parted her lips with his tongue.

He had been a little surprised when she kissed him back and even more so when she wrapped her arms around him, but he soon recovered and gave into the passion he felt for her at that moment. He pushed her up against her car and pulled her up and placed her down on the side of her car above her tire. It wasn't a lot of space, but he held her in place with his body. He inched himself between her knees and moved his lips from hers to her neck. He continued kissing her neck as she again moaned. Taking that as his cue not to stop, he slowly moved his hand between them and found the hem of her shirt and placed his hand under it, feeling her bare skin was too much, it made him want more. He inched his way up and cupped her breast over her bra. She again moaned not wanting him to stop.

He kissed his way back to her mouth and she took his bottom lip into her mouth and gently bit it causing him to let out a moan of his own. She loved hearing how turned on he was by her. It spurred her on and not caring where they were she withdrew her arms from around his neck and placed them between them. She kissed him harder massaging his tongue with her own as she began to loosen his belt. She almost had it undone when a picture of Lucas and Peyton doing this exact thing flashed into her head. She quickly stopped and pushed him away. She hopped off the car and turned away from him.

This startled Lucas."Brooke, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Brooke turned to look at him."This was a mistake. We shouldn't have let this happen. It's not right."she said all that more to herself then to him, pleading with herself to believe it.

"How can you say that? Were you not just there a minute ago? Did you not feel what I felt?"he knew she did, he could feel it.

"Lucas it doesn't matter what I feel."

"How can you say that? It does matter. It's all that matters."

"No, what matters is that you cheated on me Lucas. I can love you with all of my heart and feel everything for you and even want to be with you, but it won't change what you did. Yeah, we can have sex and it would be great, it always is, but when it's over everything will still be the same. I still won't be able to trust you."

Lucas turned around and walked a bit aways and sighed as he placed his head in his hands."I know that and I'm sorry. I just love you so much it hurts. I hate not being able to be with you. I miss you when we're not together. I know you feel the same way."He turned to face her waiting to hear what she said next.

He was exactly right. She felt all those same things for him, but she couldn't let him know that, so she went for the next best thing to her, hurt him before he gets the chance to hurt you."You know your partially right. I do feel all those things, but then I picture you making out with my best friend in a dirty motel room, in her car, and again in your room on the bed we not long before made love on and all those feelings are replaced with hate. I hate you for what you did to me, what you did to us. I know you don't want to hear this Lucas, but I do. I hate you much more than I ever loved you. You ruined what we could have had, all because you couldn't get Peyton out of your head. You just had to have her. Now you have to deal with everything else. Tonight was a mistake I wish with everything I could take back."she laughed."I guess we both have those now huh? Please stay away from me from now on. I'm serious. This is not going to happen again."

Lucas had never been more hurt by words. Every word she said stung. She said being with him was a mistake she wanted not to have happened. He now knew how Peyton felt and it wasn't good. She seemed really serious. She wanted him to stay away from her. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He felt that if he kept coming around it would prove to her that he wanted to be with her, but he knew that wasn't what she wanted, so he'd have to deal with it. This was all his fault and now he had to suffer through it."Okay. I won't bother you again. If this is what you want then okay. It's not what I want, but that doesn't matter. I hurt you so much and this is the least I can do. I promise I won't come near you again, but since this is the last time I will probably talk to you need to know a few things. I love you more than anything, more than I ever thought I could love someone. You are the perfect person for me. You are the only one I want to be with. I wish to god I would have figured that out sooner, but I didn't. I know what Peyton said to you earlier and you need to know that it was all a lie. I never touched her, I never kissed her, and I never called you anything like that. I never would. How could I talk about you in such a way, when I love you so much. Even if I didn't love you, I could never talk about you like that. Please believe that."he looked at her and she just nodded indicating she believed him. He nodded in return."Okay well I'm going to follow you home. It's late and I want to make sure you get home safe."

She again nodded and walked to get into her car. She already knew that everything Peyton said was a lie, but it felt good to have Lucas himself clarify it.

Lucas too got into his truck and pulled out behind her and did exactly what he said he would, he followed her home. He'd been so happy earlier when they were together. It was like everything was okay again and it felt right. They laughed and talked and now he was hurting. Everything he did came up and bit him in the ass all over again, but it was all his fault and he had to live with it. As much as it was killing him to even think about it, he was going to do what she asked. He was going to stay away from her. He could see that she really needed it. He pulled to a stop when she turned into her driveway. She quickly got out of her car and looked over at him once and then went into her house. He drove away once he knew she was safe inside.

She shut the door behind her and collapsed on the floor in a crying heap. She wanted to cry in her car and came really close to, but didn't because she was afraid Lucas would try to talk to her again and she did not want him to see her crying, not after every horrible thing she had said to him. Now that she was in the safety of her own home, where no one could see her, there was no need to hide. She cried because she was hurt, she cried because she was sad, and she cried because she loved him so much and couldn't be with him. The afternoon she spent with him had been one of the best times she'd had in a while. It was so easy to fall back into being with him. They fit so well together. How was it that Lucas couldn't see that? How was it that he chose Peyton over her and in the process ruined her life? She hated that she thought of Lucas as her life. That's why she told him to stay away from her. She needed to change her ways and she needed what happened tonight to never happen again and with him around it was bound to. She knew she hurt him by saying what she did, but he hurt her too. After what felt like hours of crying on the floor she drug herself to her bedroom and threw herself onto her bed to cry some more. She needed to get it all out because tomorrow she'd have to put on her _I'm Brooke Davis and I don't give a damn about anything_ front. It wasn't going to be hard. She'd had years of practicing to be something she wasn't. By now she was a pro at being fake.

* * *

**A/N:**Thank you all for all the reviews. I really appreciate them. Please forgive me for not personalizing all my thank yous, but I've been really busy and I really have no business updating right now. I have a million things to do. I made this chapter a little longer to make up for the time it took me to UD. I hope you liked it. I have a question though. Do you think it is too soon for Brucas to get back together? Let me know. Please read and review. Thanks. 

**Coming Up:**

Brooke gets pampered.

Brooke tells Haley a secret about Nathan.

Brooke asks Haley an important question.


	15. Nathan's Muddy Secret

**Chapter Fifteen**

_**Nathan's Muddy Secret**_

Brooke gloomily walked into her first period class dreading it. School was the last place she wanted to be today. Being with Lucas yesterday and then having to push him away was too draining. She hated that she let herself be put in that situation. Yesterday was just a crazy day and after what happened with that man she didn't want to be alone. She just wanted to forget everything for one afternoon and she did, but in the end she was worse off. She took her seat and laid her head down.

Haley walked in shortly after her and saw her friend with her head down."Hey Brooke, what's wrong?"

She looked up."Hey."

"You look like crap. What happened?"

"Lucas happened."she simply stated.

"Lucas? What do you mean?"

"We were together yesterday and it was a mistake."

"You were together? You mean you two slept together?"

"No."she shook her head."I stopped it before it went that far, but stopping was the last thing I wanted to do. I could tell I upset Luke though."

"Why, because you wouldn't sleep with him? If so then who cares."

"No, that's not why. He's not like that. It's just that I said some stuff and I think I really hurt him. I honestly think that things are over for good. There was a little part of me that felt like we'd get back together in time, but now I know we're not. He said he was going to leave me alone."she let out a sigh.

"You don't sound too happy about that. Isn't this what you wanted?"

"What I want is for none of this to have happened in the first place. It's just hard, you know. Everything that has happened lately is just wearing me down. I need a break from everything, from school, from Lucas, and from Peyton. I need to be pampered and waited on and I know just where to get that."she smiled to herself.

"Well with the way Lucas feels about you, I'm sure you could get that from him."

"Ha, ha, but I just said I need a break from him too remember?"

"Right, sorry. So where is it you go to get pampered?"asked Haley rolling her eyes.

"Amelia's. She has the best spa in town. Everybody who works there has magic hands. Ooh, just thinking about it is relaxing. I definitely have to go and now. Screw school. Will you come with me? I could use a friend to talk to."

"I don't know Brooke. I really shouldn't leave school."

"Come on Tutor Girl live a little. It's only one day. Trust me once you are lying down getting a massage you'll see that it is worth it."

"How much does getting pampered at the spa all day cost? I don't really have money to be spending on stuff like that."

"Well then your in luck Tutor Girl because this little trip to the spa is on me, well on daddy anyways."she laughed."You don't have to worry about anything. Just say yes."Brooke stuck out her bottom lip pleadingly.

Haley smiled. How could she say no to that face."Okay, when are we leaving?"

Brooke squealed."Right after class and don't worry I'll give you plenty of time to say good bye to your boy toy. I'm so excited about this. Aren't you?"

"Well I've never been to a spa so I don't know."

"You'll love it, I promise."

"It does sound fun."

"It is we will no doubt have a great time."

* * *

Class ended and Haley left Brooke at her locker to put her stuff away in her own. She knew that when she was done Nathan would be with Brooke. He was still walking her to class even though she repeatedly told him he didn't have to. She just closed her locker when Lucas walked up to her."Hey Hales, can I talk to you for a sec?" 

"Oh, Lucas can it wait? I'm kinda in a hurry. I have to meet Brooke, we're leaving."

"Where are you two going in the middle of school?"

"Well Brooke isn't feeling good today and she needs to be waited on, so we're going to spend the day at a spa."

Lucas laughed."You know that sounds just like Brooke, dropping everything to get a massage, but not you. Your really gonna skip school?"

"I know, I can't believe it either, but yep. Who am I to say no to a free day at the spa?"

"That's true."

"Brooke's waiting for me, so I should go, but I'll call you later and we'll talk about what happened with you two yesterday."

"She told you about that?"

"Kinda, but I'm sure she'll go into detail about it later."

"I'm sure she will. I'll talk to you later. Bye Hales."

"See you Lucas."

* * *

Nathan walked up to Brooke."Hey B what's up?" 

"There you are. I was wondering how long it would take for you to get here."

"Well I'm here now reporting for duty."

"Yeah, about that, it looks like you will be having today off. I'm out of here."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm taking Tutor Girl to Amelia's. I need a little relaxation."

He nodded in understanding."Does this have to do with what happened yesterday in the locker room?"

"Yes, that and some other things are going on too."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah, I actually do, but not here and not now. Later, I promise."

"If your sure."she nodded."So you really slapped Peyton huh?"

"Hell yeah, and she deserved it."

"After everything I heard her say I don't doubt it. Did you really kick her off the squad too?"

"You bet I did. Do you want me to let you in on a little secret?"

"Sure."

"I'm going to ask Haley to take her place. Do you think she'll do it?"

"I'm sorry, but there is no way that she will do it Brooke."laughed Nathan.

"You seriously don't think so?"

"Seriously B, Haley will have no part in this cheer leading thing. She doesn't even like cheerleaders."

"She likes me."

"Yeah, but you and Peyton were the exceptions and do you remember how long it took you all to become friends?"

"Well I'm still gonna ask. What if I play the she owes me one for not telling me about Lucas card?"

"Do you really want to do that?"

"Maybe I'll just beg her instead. If she says no, then she says no."

Nathan rolled his eyes at her, like she'd take no for an answer. He kinda liked the idea of Haley becoming a cheerleader. He'd give anything to get her into a uniform.

* * *

Haley walked back to Brooke's locker and there was Nathan right where she knew he'd be. 

Nathan turned when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind. He kissed her forehead."So Brooke tells me she's taking you to Amelia's. Sounds fun."he said rolling his eyes. Brooke caught that and playfully pushed him."Hey, I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound like something I would want to do."

Brooke opened her mouth to speak, but shut it when he spoke."Don't you dare Brooke."she smiled at him. He knew no matter what he said she'd tell about his spa days.

"Nathan loves going to Amelia's."she blurted out.

Haley turned to look at him."When did you go to the spa?"

Brooke answered for him."He's always gone. He and I used to be regulars at Amelia's.They know him by name there. In fact...do you want to come too Nate? The more the merrier. It's my treat."

"You know B as tempting as that sounds, I'm gonna have to pass. You know I only went because you made me."

Brooke laughed as he made his excuses."Maybe that was why you went at first, but later you went because you liked it. I even caught you there once without me, so don't lie."

His eyes widened."That was a one time thing. I needed to relax for a big game. Dan wouldn't let up on me."

Brooke turned to Haley. She went this far, she might as well tell her everything."I caught him in the mud bath by himself. He looked so cute covered in mud. I teased him about it for weeks."

Haley laughed."I wish I could have seen that."

"No more Brooke. I told you never to say anything."

"Hey, she's your girlfriend, she has the right to know her boyfriend has a mud fetish."

Nathan sighed. He knew he'd better change the subject because this conversation had the potential to get him into trouble."So you two are just going to leave me all by myself today, with nobody to eat lunch with."

"I thought you said you were going to practice with Lucas at lunch today."said Haley.

"Again?"asked Brooke.

"Yeah, we have to work together all week on Whitey's orders."

"Sucks to be you. Now I'm going to give you two some privacy to say goodbye. I'll be in my car waiting, so hurry Tutor Girl. Bye Nate."

"Bye B. Take care of my girl for me."

Brooke waved him off and started to walk to her car. She was about to pull open the door when it was pulled open from the other side. Lucas walked in and stopped when he saw Brooke. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then changed his mind and closed it and walked off. She was actually surprised that he was doing what she asked and leaving her alone. She walked through the door and up to her car and got in."Hopefully this will get easier."she said out loud.

* * *

"So do you want to tell me what happened yesterday?"asked Haley during their manicure and pedicure. 

Brooke sighed."Where do I start?"she asked out loud.

"From the beginning."said Haley with a smile.

"You think? Because I was going to start from the end and work my way to the beginning."said Brooke sarcastically.

"Your funny."

"So I've been told."

"Brooke, spill."

She stuck out her tongue."Fine. I slapped Peyton yesterday, but I'm sure you already knew that."

She shook her head."No I didn't. What happened?"

"Well first she wanted me to think Lucas was lying about not being with her the other day, then she changed her story and said she lied for me, all while calling me a slut and saying Lucas deserved to know that if he hadn't of cheated on me I would have done it to him. I couldn't take it anymore. I had to hit her and then I kicked her off the squad."

"Can you do that?"

"Yeah, but if she goes to the head of the cheer committee, she could probably have it over turned, seeing how I was the one to hit her."

"This is all so crazy. Not long ago we were all friends and now everyones at each others throats."

"Well things change, which reminds me, are you interested in joining an after school program?"

Even with Brooke trying to ease her way into asking, Haley knew."Brooke, I know what you want and the answer is no. I do not want to take Peyton's place."

"Oh please Haley. We really need you."

"I have never cheered for anything in my life. I don't even know how."

"I've seen you move when you thought nobody was watching and you can yell. I'll teach you all the routines. Trust me it can work."

"Brooke I don't know about this."said Haley shaking her head.

"Please Haley, besides you owe me."

"For what?"

"For not telling me about Lucas and the skinny blonde bitch."

"Oh, come on. Don't use that one on me."

"It's true. Look I'll make you a deal. We'll try it out. I'll spend the next two days teaching you one routine and you'll do it in the game Friday. If you completely hate it, then I won't make you do it again. How does that sound?"

"Like a trick."

"It's not, I promise."

"Fine, I'll try it out Brooke, but if I don't feel comfortable at any time I'm done. No arguments okay?"

"Okay, now our time is up here, lets go take a mud bath. It's so relaxing, just ask Nathan."Brooke laughed.

They made their way to the mud area. Haley stood above the mud and looked down."I don't know about this Brooke. Sitting in mud doesn't sound like fun."

"It's not normal mud. It feels cool and it's great for the skin."Brooke slowly stepped in and sat down."Ahh, this feels like heaven, come on Tutor Girl, get in."

Haley hesitated, but soon sat down."This isn't too bad, I kinda like it."

"I told you so."

"How long do we stay in here?"

"Just twenty minutes. When we're done, we'll go get some lunch. After that we'll go for a swim and later we have appointments for facials, seaweed wraps, and massages, then we'll eat dinner and leave."

"It sounds fun. How's the food here?"

"Absolutely amazing, anything you can imagine they have and if they don't, they'll get it for you."

"Wow, so this is how the rich live."

"Yeah, but this place is worth every dollar."

"I bet, so are you going to tell me about what happened with Lucas?"

"Yeah, I guess I have stalled enough huh? Well after practice my car stopped on me and and a weird old guy stopped to help me. He kept on telling me to get into his car, but of course I wouldn't. He practically had me pinned against my car when Lucas showed up."

"Oh my god. Are you okay? Did that man hurt you?"

Brooke laughed."You sound just like Lucas and no he didn't hurt me. Lucas showed up before anything happened, thank god. Anyways after that weird old guy left Lucas realized that all I needed was gas so he took me to get some. Then we stopped for some ice cream, then we ended up back at my car. We played around and he kissed me. I kissed him back and we were pretty much going at it on the side of the road. I didn't care if anyone saw us, but then I thought about Peyton and I stopped everything, I told Lucas he was a mistake and that I hated him. I know I hurt him, but he hurt me too. I need him to say as far away from me as possible, so I said what I thought would do it."

"Why is it you need him to stay away?"she knew why, but wanted to see if Brooke would say it.

"Because We're no longer together Haley."she let out a sigh."It's too easy to fall back into habit with him. When we were together yesterday we talked and had fun. It was so easy and comfortable. I can't let it happen again. I know that if I'm around him it will. So if I have to say a few hurtful things to him to make him stay away, then so be it. He hurt me, I hurt him, now all that's left is to stay away from each other."

"Is that what you really want?"

"Yes it is."

"Really?"

"Yes really."

"Okay then, I guess you should leave everything as is and try to move on."

"That's exactly what I need to do, move on. If only it was that easy."she said the last part to herself.

* * *

Nathan met Lucas in the gym to practice during lunch."Your here early." 

"There's nothing else to do here. My best friend is gone today thanks to Brooke's last minute spa idea."

"They are pretty crazy for dropping school to go to a spa, even if it is Amelia's."

"Well I understand Brooke needing to get away, especially after what happened yesterday."said Lucas shaking his head.

"Yeah, I bet that fight with Peyton was intense."

"I'm sure it was, but I'm actually talking about what happened with that guy ."

"What guy?"asked Nathan curiously.

"Brooke didn't tell you about yesterday?"

Nathan felt a little jealous, Lucas was supposed to be the one who knew nothing about Brooke, not him."No, but you better and now. What happened?"

"Brooke ran out of gas and had to pull over and some guy stopped to help her, but really just wanted to get her into his car. I saw her car and I stopped to see what was wrong. It seemed pretty intense. I guess I scared the guy off and he left. Brooke was pretty shaken up though. She wouldn't let me go. It didn't take her long to recover, but it was still pretty bad. I stayed with her for a couple of hours. I didn't want her to be alone and I didn't think she wanted that either. After everything I followed her home and made sure she was safe inside before left her house. I'm surprised she didn't tell you about it."

"Me too, but she did tell me earlier that she needed to talk, just not here, so I'm sure she'll tell me herself."

Lucas nodded."So how was she today?"

"Okay I guess. I mean I really didn't see her acting weird."

"That's good. I guess it was a good idea she went and had some fun today. She needs a little normality right now."

Nathan looked at Lucas. He seemed to really care about Brooke, but he couldn't tell for sure. He hoped for Brooke's sake it was for real. There was no doubt in his mind that Brooke still loved him and wanted to be with him, no matter how much he tried to discourage it, it was still there. He would still tell her it wasn't a good idea, but that would only do so much. He wanted to spend time with Lucas to see how he really felt about her and so far it was all good. He liked what he heard when Lucas was talking to Peyton and didn't know he was there. He was turning out to be an okay guy, although he still hated him for what he did to Brooke and he still had a lot to do to prove to her that he was worth trusting again. He was going to be there to make sure nothing happened until then. There was no way that he would ever be able to hurt her again, not while he was around and he wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks to everybody who reviewed. You are the best. I'm sorry once again for taking my time with this UD. I'm still very busy, but didn't want to wait another day to put something up. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think. Read and review. Thanks. 

P.S.Last nights eppy totally kicked ass. I loved it. Brucas is on there way. Lets hope the writers don't screw them up again.

**Coming Up:**

Dan makes an appearance.

Nathan and Lucas spend more time together.

Brooke misunderstands Nathan.


	16. She Doesn't Hate You

**Chapter Sixteen**

_**She Doesn't Hate You**_

Brooke dropped Haley off at her house after they left the spa. She was on her way to Nathan's house. A lot was happening and she really needed to talk to him and get his opinion on it.

She pulled into his drive way and got of her and went to knock on the door.

She was unpleasantly surprised when she saw Dan open the door."Ms. Davis, it's good to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hey, Mr. Scott. I just stopped by to see Nathan. Is he here?"

"No, I'm afraid he's not. I know he'll be sorry he missed you."

"He better."said Brooke with an awkward smile. Dan always made her feel uncomfortable and she had no clue as to why.

"Please tell me my son wised up and dumped that tutor and is now dating you."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but no we're just friends and he's still with Haley."

"Well then it's his loss."

Brooke laughed. She didn't know what else to do.

"So did you want to come in and wait for him. I don't know when he'll be back, but I'm sure we can find something to do until then."

Brooke hoped to god he wasn't flirting with her. That would just be gross. What could they possibly do together? She did not want to find that out."No, I can't. I'm sorry. Will you just tell him I stopped by please?"

"That I will. Well it was lovely to see you again Ms. Davis. I hope to see you again soon."

Brooke turned around and started to walk to her car."You too Mr. Scott. Bye."she saw him waiting out side by the door for her to leave he gave her one last wave."You old perv."she said to herself. As she drove she got out her cell and dialed Nathan's number.

* * *

Nathan was at the River court with Lucas and the other guys. They had been there for about an hour playing ball and to his surprise he was actually having fun. If you had told him a week ago he'd be hanging with Lucas and his friends, he would have laughed in you face, but now he was. He had just made his shot when his cell rang."Hey, time okay? I have to get that."he ran to get his phone."Hello?" 

"Hey Nate."

"What's up B?"

"Nothing. So I was just at your house, but you weren't there, your dad was though. Have I ever told you he gives me the creeps?"

"Only about a dozen times."said Nathan with a laugh.

"Well he still does. Do you know that he wants for us to get together?"

Nathan laughed again."Yeah, but he's not the only one."

Brooke couldn't believe what he just said."What?"

Nathan heard her voice get weird and then it hit him, it was because of what he said."It's my mom. She used to always ask me when we'd get together."he heard her sigh in relief.

"Okay, good because for a second I thought you were going to say..."she trailed off not knowing exactly how to say what she was thinking.

"Don't worry Brooke. I'm with Haley now. I'm not pining away for you. That was a long time ago."

"Shut up, I know. So anyways, I really need to talk to you."

"Isn't that what we're doing right now?"

"You know what I mean. Where are you?"

He hesitated. He didn't know how she'd react to him hanging out with Lucas outside of school."I'm at the Rivercourt."

"What are you doing over there? Are you with Lucas?"

"Yeah, he asked me if I wanted to come after practice. I didn't have anything else to do so I came."

"Right. Do you ever get tired of basketball?"

"Do you ever get tired of cheering?"

"Yeah."

"Well I don't."

"Whatever. Are you almost done there?"

"Yeah, I guess I could leave. What's up?"

"Nothing. I just want to spend some time with my best friend."

Nathan smiled."Oh, I see I've been bumped from friend to best friend."

"No, you've always been my best friend. So I'm like right down the street, can I go pick you up?"

"What about my car?"

"We'll pick it up later or if you want you can leave the keys to your new best friend Lucas."she laughed.

"Brooke don't start. We'll just pick it up later. I'll see you when you get here."he hung up and walked back to the guys who were waiting for him on the court."That was Brooke. I gotta go. She'll be here in a minute."he went to put his things in his car and lock it up.

Brooke was there in a matter of minutes. She didn't dare get out of her car. She didn't want to see Lucas, not after what happened with them the last time. She parked and waited in her car for Nathan.

"I guess I'll see you guys later."he turned and walked to Brooke's car.

Skills turned to Lucas."Hey man, is he with Brooke now or something?"

Lucas shook his head."Na, man. Their just friends. He's with Haley."

"Oh, I was just gonna say if he was then that'd be wrong."

Lucas laughed and turned to watch Brooke pull away.

They drove off."So where are we going?"asked Nathan.

"My house."

"Sounds good. So do you want to tell me what's been going on now or do you want to wait until we get to your house?"

"Lets wait."

"Okay, so how was Amelia's?"

"Perfect as usual. Haley totally loved it. I'm definitely going to have to take her back. You should come with us next time."she smiled at him.

"Come on Brooke don't start that again."

She let out a laugh."Your not mad that I told her you like going to Amelia's are you?"

"I should be. That was supposed to stay our secret."

"Oh, please."Nathan gave her a hurt look."Okay, I'm sorry. I promise to keep every other secret of ours to myself."

"You better because I have some secrets of my own that I can share about you."

She glared at him."Whatever, so anyways guess what?"

"What?"

"You'll never believe it, but I got Haley to agree to take Peyton's place in the squad."

"Are you serious? She actually said yes? Wow, your good."

"I know and it wasn't even that hard."

"Good. I can't wait to see her in a uniform."

Brooke rolled her eyes."You are such a guy."

* * *

They got to Brooke's house and walked up to the door."Shit, I left the keys in the ignition. Hold on a sec."she walked back to her car and grabbed them along with her forgotten purse and walked back to see the door already opened and with Nathan inside."How'd you get in?"he held up his key to her house."Right. I forgot you still had those."she shut the door and walked to the kitchen."Do you want anything to drink?"she yelled. 

He walked up behind her and opened the refrigerator."What do you got?"

She jumped back into him and turned around. Nathan began to laugh. She in turn punched him in his chest."You jerk, you scared the hell out of me."

Nathan rubbed his chest."That was the point."he reached past her and grabbed a coke."Do you want one?"she nodded and the threw her one."So were you ever going to tell me about yesterday and how you almost got kidnapped?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Lucas told me."

"Right, I forgot he's your new best friend."

"He's not my best friend Brooke, but he is an alright guy."

"He's an alright guy? What?"

"I'm just saying that I may have been wrong about him in the past. I don't hate him that much anymore."

"How did that happen?"

"I don't know. I guess it was when I heard him talking to Peyton. I didn't expect him to say the things he did and I kinda have a little respect for him now. Not a lot, but some."Brooke looked at him in disbelief."Look it's not like I'm going to be inviting him over for sleep overs or anything. I just don't think he's all that bad anymore."

"If you say so. Well now I don't think I can talk to you about what I wanted to anymore, seeing how your friends with him and all."she joked.

"Brooke we're not friends really, we just talk sometimes."

"I don't care if your friends with him Nathan, it's just weird seeing you two together that's all. All I've heard from you is how much you hate him and how he's a bad guy."

"I might have been wrong about him. I'm trying to figure that out."

"I made out with him last night."she blurted out.

"What? I thought you hated that jerk."

"Oh, so now he's a jerk. Just a minute ago, he was an alright guy. What's that about?"

"It's okay that he's my friend, it's not okay that he's kissing you. He cheated on you Brooke. Don't forget that."

"Like I could ever forget that Nathan. That's what made me stop things yesterday. I pictured them together and couldn't go on. As much as I didn't want to stop, I knew I had to."

"Good for you."

"Am I stupid Nate?"

"No, of course not. I know you still love him and I know it must be hard for you, but you can't let that happen again."

"I know that."she let out a sigh."That's what I told him. I also told him it was a mistake and that I hated him. I shouldn't have said all of that. Maybe I should apologize."

"Don't you even think about it. You have no reason to apologize to him."

"Your right. I'm just being silly. I already told him to stay away from me and he said that he would, so if I went to him now, I'd be breaking my own rule."

"Brooke as much as you don't want to, you seriously need to stay away from him."

"I know and I am. Now I don't want to talk about Lucas anymore. Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"Sounds good."

Brooke wrapped her arms around his waist and they walked into the living room.

Halfway through Forest Gump, Brooke fell asleep. Nathan looked down at her. Her head rested on his lap and he decided not to wake her. He closed his eyes and went to sleep with her on the couch.

* * *

Lucas sat on his bed with his back against the head board reading when he heard someone knocking at his side door."Come in." 

"Hey loser, what are you doing?"

He held up the book."Reading."

"I should have known."

"What are you doing here? I didn't know you were stopping by tonight."

"I wasn't, but then I remembered you needed to talk, so here I am. Brooke told me about yesterday."

"She told you everything?"

She nodded."She started with the fight in the locker room and ended with telling you to leave her alone. That's everything right?"

"Sounds like it."he let out a sigh."I don't know what to do Hales. The last thing I want to do is leave her alone, but she wants me to. I really screwed this up. I never wanted her to hate me and now she does."

"I'm sorry Lucas. I wish things were different for you. I know how much you love her."

"I wish she knew."

"I think she does, but she just can't get over the fact that you did what you did and Peyton isn't making it any easier by lying to her about you."

"I know and hopefully Peyton won't be an issue anymore. I told her to stay away from me."

"I'm glad you did. It was long over due Lucas."

"I know. So did you have fun today? You look refreshed."

"I am. That place is amazing. I have never been more relaxed in my life."Lucas smiled at her."So what did you do today?"

"Nothing, just went to class and hung out with Nathan."

"Isn't that a little weird? You hanging out with Nathan? I like it though."

"It is a little weird now that I'm thinking about it, but it was also kinda fun, well that is until Brooke called him and he ran off with her. Am I crazy for being jealous of them?"

"Yes and no. No, because I know you wish you were doing the things he is with her and yes you are crazy because you have nothing to be jealous of. They are just friends. I actually like their friendship. She really needs friends right now and he's there for her in ways I can't be."

"Your right. I guess I should be glad she has him."

* * *

Early the next morning Lucas got up for a run. He decided to run to the Rivercourt so he could also play some ball before going to school. He ran the whole way there and was surprised to see Nathan's car still there. He wondered why Nathan would leave his car here all night. The only thing he could think of was that he spent the night at Brooke's. He wasn't worried at all. Nathan was with Haley and Brooke wouldn't do anything to hurt Haley the way she had been hurt. He stayed and shot a few baskets.

* * *

Nathan awoke the next morning to find Brooke no longer in his lap. He walked into her room and heard the shower running. He knocked on the door. 

"Yeah?"

"It's me."

"Come in."

"Are you sure?"

"Nathan don't be silly. I'm behind a curtain."

He opened the door and stuck his head in."Hey I really need to go and get changed so I'm going to take your car. I'll be back to pick you up later okay?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you then."

Nathan shut the door and went to get her keys. He headed to the Rivercourt to get his gym bag out of his car.

* * *

Lucas saw Brooke's car pull up next to Nathan's. He was right, he did stay with her last night. He saw Nathan get out of the drivers seat and come up to him. 

"Dude don't you ever go home?"said Nathan with a laugh.

"Hey I could say the same to you. Your car stayed here over night. You stayed over at Brooke's?"

"Yeah, but nothing happened. We fell asleep watching a movie."

"Hey I don't need an explanation. I know nothing happened. I was just stating the obvious."

Nathan took deep breath and then let it out."Okay I know this is none of my business, but I'm going to say it anyways. You really need to stay away from Brooke. She told me about what happened the other night and it really messed her up man."

"Your right, this isn't any of your business, but don't worry about it. I am going to stay away from her and not because you said so, but because she asked me to. It was a mistake, she said so herself. She hates me. Did she tell you that?"he closed his eyes and shook his head.

Nathan just looked at him. He seemed so hurt."Yeah, she did, but she doesn't hate you. She'll never forgive you for what you did, but she doesn't hate you. I told her the same thing I told you. You both need to stay away from each other. I have to get going. I'll see you around. He went to grab his bag and then got back into Brooke's car and drove to his house.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. I really appreciate them. Nothing really happened in this chapter other than Laley bonding and Brathan bonding. This and the last chapter are really just filler chapters leading up to the party where the unexpected happens. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks. 

**Coming Up:**

Jacks back.

Lucas once again is jealous.

Peyton is also back.


	17. Moving On

**Chapter Seventeen**

_**Moving On**_

Brooke walked with Nathan to her second period class."You know you really don't have to keep doing this. I am capable of walking to class all by myself. Lucas and Peyton won't be bothering me anytime soon, so don't worry."

"I know."he looked at her."What, you don't like spending time with me?"

"Nate, I love spending time with you, but we're together all the time. If this continues I just might start to get sick of you."she laughed at the look now on his face."Besides I think people are starting to talk."

"So let them. We know what's up."

"That's not the point, Nathan."she sighed, she wasn't getting through to him so she went with another approach."You know, I think your girlfriend, Haley, might want you to walk her to class occasionally."

"She understands."

Brooke let out another huge sigh."Okay, Nathan I love you. Really I do, but your not getting it, so I'm just gonna have to say it out straight. I want to start walking to class by myself. You need to spend more time with Haley. I feel like I'm hogging you."

"Your not hogging me Brooke, but I get it now. I'll let you walk to class on your own."

Brooke jumped up and threw her arms around Nathan for a hug."I feel so stupid for getting excited about this."she was about to pull away from him when she heard someone speak.

"Excuse me."

She turned to see Lucas looking back at the two of them.

"Excuse me."he repeated.

Brooke just stared at him not moving. Having him in front over after what they did was over whelming. She missed him so much, but knew she couldn't be with him.

Nathan grabbed Brooke by the arm and moved her out of the doorway. She was startled at first, but quickly realized why he was saying excuse me."Oh, right, sorry."she looked down.

He nodded and went into the classroom.

She turned back to Nathan."Oh my god, I am so stupid. I couldn't stop staring at him and all he wanted was to get in the classroom."she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Brooke your not stupid, but you really should have moved out of his way."he said with a laugh.

She playfully hit him in the stomach."Shut up. I guess I should go in. Hopefully I won't make an even bigger idiot of myself in front of him."she rolled her eyes."I'll see you at lunch."

"Actually, you won't. I'm going to work with Lucas again today. Tonights the game and we want to show Whitey what's up. So it's just going to be you and my girl. Tell her I love her, will you?"

"You see, you could be telling her yourself if you would have walked her to class."

"Okay, okay. I said I get it Brooke, no more walking you to class."

"Thank you. I'll see you later."she walked into class and saw Lucas looking at her. She looked back for only a second and then took her seat next to Jack.

"Hey, I hope your feeling better."

She looked back at him confused.

He saw and explained."When you didn't show up for class yesterday Ms. Kahn asked Lucas if he knew where you were. He said you went home because you weren't feeling well."

She turned to look at Lucas, he had covered for her when he didn't have to, but he was talking to Kelly and he looked pretty interested. She turned back around."I took a personal day, that's all."

"So you weren't sick?"

"No, Lucas was just covering for me."she turned once again to look at him, but quickly turned back in her seat.

"Good. So I guess we should get started."

She nodded and smiled at him.

Lucas turned from talking to Kelly to look over at Brooke. She was talking and laughing with Jack. She looked happy. He hadn't seen her really smile since before the day he ruined everything and it looked good. He just wished he was the one next to Brooke, making her smile. He continued to glance her way all through out class and Jack seemed to keep her laughing. He already couldn't stand the guy.

* * *

"So do you think we're ready for the game?"asked Lucas. 

"I know I am, but you, I'm not so sure of."

"Thanks man."said Lucas as he threw the ball at Nathan.

"It was a joke. We are both more than ready. We'll show Whitey."

"Show him what? That he was right, by making us work together?"

"Yeah, I guess we shouldn't be too eager to show him that huh?"

"No, we shouldn't, but I am looking forward to using everything we learned to beat the Bulldogs tonight. They won't know what hit them."

"That's right. So are you coming to the beach house tonight?"

"I don't know. Haley wants me to, so I guess so. I just don't want to make things awkward for Brooke."

"She'll be fine."

He nodded."So is Haley going to cheer in the game tonight?"

"Yeah, Brooke taught her one cheer so far and wants her to do it tonight. She'll be there in a uniform."Nathan wriggled his eye brows."Man I can't wait."

"Dude, come on, that's my best friend. Gross."

"Sorry, but come on, Haley in a cheer leading uniform. I can't wait to see that."

Nathan threw the ball back to Lucas and the continued to play, but stopped when they heard the gym door open. They both looked to see who it was.

"Just great."muttered Lucas.

Nathan heard and turned back to the guy at the door."Do you need something man?"

"Yeah, can I talk to you for a minute Nathan?"

Nathan turned to Lucas, who in return just shrugged.

"Sure, but, uh, do I know you?"asked Nathan as he walked over to him.

"No, not really. I'm Jack, a friend of Brooke's."

Nathan nodded.

Lucas strained to hear what they were saying, but couldn't.

"Okay I'm just going to come out and ask. Are you and Brooke together?"

"What?"

"I know she went out with your brother, but now I always see her with you."

"We're just friends, but why do you want to know?"

"I wanted to ask her out, but wanted to make sure she wasn't with anyone first."

"Well we're not together, but I'm not sure she's ready to date, so don't get upset if she tells you no."

"I won't. Well thanks. It was nice talking to you. I'll leave so you can finish doing what you were doing."he turned and walked out the door.

Nathan walked back to Lucas, who was staring at him."What?"

"What do you mean what? What did he want?"

"Nothing."Lucas continued to look at him."Okay, he asked if Brooke and I were together."

"Why is that any of his business?"

"I guess because he wants to ask her out."

"Well in that case, I hope you told him you were."

"No, I told him we weren't. I wasn't going to lie."

Lucas shook his head."I knew he was going to try something."

"Just because he asks her out doesn't mean she's gonna say yes."

"That's true. You should go talk to her and tell her to say no. She'll listen to you."

"Do you hear yourself?"

"I know I sound crazy, but I don't care. I don't want her going out with him."

"Well then you shouldn't have screwed her over. Hell, I don't want her with you, so if this keeps her away from you then good."

"Thanks man."said Lucas sarcastically.

Nathan shrugged."It's the truth."

* * *

Brooke was talking to Haley when Jack came up to them. 

"Hey Brooke."

"Jack, hi. What's up?"

"I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a minute."

Haley looked at Brooke questioningly.

Brooke shrugged and turned back to Jack."Sure."she got up."Lets go inside."she turned to Haley."I'll be right back."she nodded.

They walked together."So, what's up Jack?"asked Brooke once they were inside.

He looked at her and then looked down. He was so nervous. He was about to ask out Brooke Davis and wasn't sure he'd be able to go through with it.

"Jack?"

"Yeah...um...I was wondering if...would you maybe like to go out with me tonight?"

Brooke couldn't help, but smile. He looked so nervous. It was cute. She hated that she had to hurt him and turn him down. He seemed like a really good guy."I would love to..."he smiled."But..."his smile faded."I can't. The games tonight and being the cheer leading captain, I kinda have to be there. I'm sorry."she gave him a small smile.

"What about after the game?"

"There's the after game party that I really need to go to."

"Oh, okay. Maybe another time then. I'll see you in class."he turned and walked away.

She felt so bad. He seemed like he really wanted to go out with her and it was sweet."Hey, wait."he turned around."Do you maybe want to go with me to the party? It could be fun."she shrugged.

He walked back to her."I don't know. I've never been to a Nathan Scott party before."

"Don't worry, it's not all it's hyped up to be. It's just like every other party. So what do you say? It'll be fun. I promise."

"Sure what the hell. I'll even go to the game."

"Great. I'll see you there. We'll leave right after."

"Okay."he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

She smiled at him and watched him leave.

Peyton came up to her, having watched everything."So is that your new boyfriend?"

"Why, you thinking about trying to steal him too?"

"Your really funny Brooke, you know that?"

"Get out of my way."she pushed passed her.

"Oh wait. One more thing. I'll see you at the game tonight. I had that decision of yours over turned. I'm still on the squad."

"I'm sorry, but you've already been replaced."

"Well isn't that too bad, you'll just have to get rid of her."

"No, I may have to keep you, but that doesn't mean I have to use you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Get ready to warm the bench Peyton."she walked off and went back to sit with Haley."Ugh, I really hate her."

Haley looked at her."Who? I thought you were with that Jack guy?"

"I was, but Peyton saw us together and then came up to me. I knew she was going to find a way to stay on the squad. Didn't I tell you?"

"You sure did?I guess this means you no longer need me huh? It's really too bad."said Haley with mock disappointment."I was really looking forward to it too."

"That's good because I still need you."

"But I thought you said..."

"I did, but just because I have to keep her doesn't mean I have to use her."

"Yay, for me."

"I know."

"Whatever, so what happened with Jack?"

"I have a date tonight."

"What? I thought we were going to the beach house tonight."

"I'm still going to the party, I'm just now going with Jack."

"So your bringing a date to Nathan's party, where Lucas will be? Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I didn't really think about Lucas being there, when I asked him. I guess I should have, but the beach house is huge. I doubt that we'll even see him there."

"Come on Brooke, you don't really believe that, do you?"

"No, but we're not together anymore. I shouldn't have to worry about him being there. If we see him there, then we see him there."even as she said those words she didn't believe them. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought about Lucas being there.

* * *

Haley left Brooke and walked to the gym in search of Lucas. She knew this was none of her business, but she felt like she should do something to fix this. She knew that if Lucas saw Brooke with someone else it would kill him. She didn't even know why Brooke was doing this. It was obvious that she still loved Lucas."Hey you two. Are you almost done?"she asked when she entered the gym. 

Nathan and Lucas both walked up to her."Yeah, we're done."said Nathan."Why? Do you miss me already?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I just need to talk to Lucas."

"Fine, whatever. I'll just go find Brooke. At least I know she'll want to see me."

"Oh come on, you know I love you. I just need to tell Lucas something."she walked up to him and gave him a kiss.

"I love you too."he kissed her back."I'll see you later babe."

"I left Brooke outside eating, so go find her. I'm sure she needs to talk to you."

"Will do."

Nathan walked out and Haley turned to Lucas.

What's up Hales?"

"I've been feeling bad. I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do and I know you don't want to come to the beach house tonight, so you don't have to. You can stay home."she didn't want him to get hurt and she also didn't want to tell him the real reason she didn't want him to go.

"Just yesterday you were begging me to go and now your telling me to stay home. What's up Haley?"

She looked at him."There's no hidden agenda, I just know that it's the last place you want to be tonight."

He didn't believe a word she said. He couldn't figure out why she would lie to him, then it hit him."Brooke's bringing Jack to Nathan's, isn't she?"

She nodded."How did you know?"

"He showed up here earlier saying he was going to ask her out and then you try and get me to stay home. It's not hard to put two and two together."

"I'm sorry Luke."

"Don't be. This isn't your fault, it's mine. I can't believe she's actually going out with him though."he shook his head in disbelief.

"Me neither, but this is something she feels like she should do, so I'm not going to try and tell her it's wrong."

"I guess I might just stay home tonight. I don't think I'd be able to take seeing her with him."

"I really want you to go, but if you don't I'll understand."

"I don't know what I'm gonna do."

* * *

Nathan plopped down in front of Brooke and stole a chip from her bag. 

"Hey if your hungry, get your own."

He grabbed another."Wow B, these are really good."

"Shut up."She threw him the bag and he continued to eat them."So what are you doing here? I thought you'd be with your new best friend Lucas."

He scowled at her."I was with him, but we finished early and I missed you, but I see you don't feel the same way, so I guess I'll leave."he gave her a half smile and slowly started to get up. He loved messing with her like this.

"Nathan, do you think I'm a selfish bitch?"

He sat back down. Clearly this wasn't the time to play around."What? Where did that come from?"

"I don't know. I have a date tonight and I'm bringing him to your party."Nathan shrugged, not getting it."Lucas will be there. Is what I'm doing wrong? Maybe subconsciously I'm doing this to hurt him."

"I doubt that Brooke. You wouldn't hurt a fly consciously or subconsciously."

"That's not true. I hurt you and Haley in the beginning, remember?"

"Yeah I do, but I also remember how bad you felt afterward and how you made it up to us. Your no longer that person Brooke."

"I know."

"So your going out with that Jack guy?"

"Yeah, that's his name. How did you know?"

"He came up to me earlier and asked if we were together."

"He did? God, it's like nobody believes a guy and a girl can be just friends."

"I'm sure they know that a guy and a girl can be just friends Brooke, just not this guy and this girl."he said motioning between himself and her."Come on don't blame him, you know our pasts."

"Whatever. So do you think it's wrong for me to take Jack somewhere Lucas is going to be?"

"No, I don't. Brooke it's a party. If you want to bring him then do it. You need to move on and he seems like a good guy, so go for it."

Brooke smiled at him. He always knew how to make her feel better."I will. God look at me, he cheats on me and when I decide to move on, I feel like the one who is doing something wrong. I need to just stop this."

"Yes, you do. Your the last one that did anything wrong. You need to have some fun. You really deserve it after everything you've been through."

"Thank you."

* * *

**Coming Up:**

Haley in a cheer leading uniform.

Peyton has some words for Brooke.

Haley is upset with Brooke.


	18. Game Time

**Chapter Eighteen**

_**Game Time**_

Brooke stood outside the restroom door in the locker room."Come on Tutor Girl. Your gonna have to come out sooner or later."

"No."said Haley through the door."I can't do this. I'm sorry. I look ridiculous."

"I highly doubt that. Come on just open the door. Look if you don't want to come out, then at least let me come in."she heard the door unlock and quickly walked in closing the door behind her."Oh my god Haley, you look amazing. Nathan is so gonna to owe me for this."

"You really don't think I look ridiculous?"

"Of course not. Lets just hope you don't look ridiculous doing the cheer I taught you."she said with a smile, then stopped when she saw Haley's face.

"That's another thing Brooke. I don't think I'm ready. I only had two days to learn it and I don't think I did. That's just not enough time."

"That's more then enough time to learn one cheer. You'll do fine, I know it. Now come on Shy Girl, lets get out there. The games gonna start soon and I can't wait to show you off."she said as she swatted her behind and exited the restroom.

As they were walking out of the locker room they past Theresa, who was talking to Kelly."Wow Haley, you look bitchen. Welcome to the squad."

Haley smiled at her sheepishly."Thanks."

"Okay girls that's enough talking. We need to go and start stretching."Peyton walked through the door."Your late, hurry up and get changed. You have five minutes to be out in the gym, if not you'll be a permanent bench warmer."

Peyton rolled her eyes and turned to Haley."So your on the squad now?"

"Yeah."

She nodded."You look good."

"Thanks."she again nodded and walked over to her locker.

Brooke looped her arm through Haley's and they walked out into the gym together."I can't wait to see Nathan's face when he sees you. It's going to be priceless."laughed Brooke.

Haley groaned."I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

"Well believe it. It's too late to turn back now."she saw Nathan standing around talking with Lucas. He was always with Lucas now."Hey Nathan."shouted Brooke. He turned around and an evil smirk came across his face."You see, I told you. Priceless."she laughed.

Nathan and Lucas both walked up to them."Wow Hales I can't believe you actually went through with this."said Lucas shaking his head.

"Well I for one am glad."said Nathan as he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

Brooke and Lucas both stood there awkwardly as the two continued to kiss. She couldn't take it anymore. She cleared her throat."That's enough you two. Save it for the party. Just make sure you wash the uniform after you two fulfill Nathan's fantasies tonight."she laughed.

Lucas couldn't help, but stare at her. He loved the sound of her laughter. For the first time he envied Nathan for being able to hold on to the girl he loved. He wanted more than anything to be holding onto Brooke and laughing with her, but that wouldn't happen. She wouldn't even look at him and he had to admit that hurt.

Peyton walked into the gym and sat with Debbie and some other girls and started to stretch. She happened to glance at the gym doors and was happy she did."Hey Brooke."Brooke turned to face her."Your boyfriends here, you know the one I saw you kissing earlier."she smiled at her and then to Lucas.

"Peyton shut the hell up."she looked at the gym entrance and saw Jack standing there waving at her. She waved back before turning to look at everybody."Okay Nathan let go of Tutor Girl, she needs to stretch and I'll be back in a minute."she turned and walked to Jack."Hey, you actually came."

He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek."Yeah, I said I would. This should be interesting. I've never been to a game before."

"It is definitely worth the time spent. I promise."

"Well just being in the same room with you is enough for me, it's a bonus having you wear that."he smiled at her.

She smiled back at him."Are you flirting with me?"

"Well if you have to ask, then I'm not doing a good job of it."

Brooke couldn't help, but laugh. He was fun to be around."No, your doing just fine. You should go find a seat and I'll talk to you during half time. I need to go and stretch."

"Sure."he leaned in once again, but this time kissed her on the lips.

This was the last thing she expected, but at the same time it was kinda nice. It was nothing compared to how she felt when Lucas kissed her, but still it was okay. She smiled at him.

Lucas watched as Jack and Brooke kissed. He felt a pain he had never felt before, like a thousand needles poking at his heart. He didn't want to see her with him, but at the same time, he couldn't tear his eyes away from them.

Haley nudged him."Hey, are you alright?"

He shook his head."She's really moving on huh?"it hurt him just saying the words.

"I'm sorry Luke."

"It's okay. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later."he turned and walked away.

Haley shook her head. She needed to talk to Brooke.

Peyton looked on with a smile. This was perfect. Lucas was hurting and it was all Brooke's fault. She was doing everything herself. She couldn't wish for anything better, well except for what she had planned for the party.

Haley waited until Brooke walked toward her before meeting her halfway.

Brooke saw the look on her face and knew that something was wrong."What's wrong Haley?"

"Look Brooke, you know that I've mostly stayed out of everything and I want to continue to do so, but I have to say this."

"Say what?"Brooke was confused.

"Okay, I know you hate Lucas and don't get me wrong, you have every right to, but you don't have the right to hurt him just because he hurt you. You know that he loves you, so please don't go around kissing Jack in front of him. Be the bigger person we all know that you are Brooke."

"I didn't know that he was going to kiss me okay, but even if I did, Lucas and I aren't together anymore. At least I had the decency to wait until we broke up to kiss other people. We all know he didn't."

"So what, now your going to punish him."

"No, of course not. I'm not that petty. I'd never do something like that."

"I know, I'm sorry. I don't want to argue with you about this. I just hate seeing Lucas hurt so much. He loves you and seeing you with Jack is killing him."

"I know and I'm sorry. I'll be more careful. Now enough lecturing me, lets go warm up Tutor Girl."she pulled her down to the floor with her.

* * *

It was now half time and the girls were getting ready to do their cheer. 

"Brooke, I don't know if I can do this."screeched Haley.

"Oh, hush Haley. You'll do fine. Just concentrate and try to remember everything I taught you."

Peyton walked up to them."You'll do great Haley."

"You see, even the back stabbing, bleach blonde, bimbo, thinks you'll do great."she smiled.

Haley had to laugh, Brooke and her nick names."Okay, lets do it."

Peyton started the music and everybody fell into step. Haley was a little off beat, but soon found the rhythm and moved with ease. For being a klutz half her life, she was doing great. She didn't have to do any complicated jumps or back flips yet, so she was happy about that. The song ended and Haley fell into position on the floor. It wasn't as hard as she thought it was going to be. It was even a little fun. Seeing Nathan stare at her longingly as she moved was definitely a plus for her.

Brooke ran up to her when it was over."You see, you did great, just like I said you would. Now I can tell that your boy toy totally wants some alone time with you so I'll leave. You really did great."

"Thanks Brooke."

Haley walked up to Nathan."So how did I do?"

He lifted her up and spun her around."You were amazing. You have never looked sexier. I can't wait to get you alone later."

She hit him."Your such a guy."

"I know, so are you going to make Brooke happy and stay on the squad?"

She shrugged."I don't know yet. It wasn't totally bad, I actually had fun, but I'm not sure yet. I think I should give it one more try before I make my decision."

Nathan nodded in agreement."Well as long as you get to keep this uniform, I don't care what you do."

She hit him again as Lucas walked up to her.

"You were great Hales. You were a natural."

"Oh stop it. There's no need to lie."

"I'm not."

"He's not. You really did great babe."

Haley smiled at the two. She was never one who looked for praise, but it did feel good to hear compliments from time to time. She saw Lucas' eyes wonder and she followed his gaze and saw that he was once again looking at Brooke who was with Jack."Stop torturing yourself Lucas. Don't look."

"I can't help it. I need something to drink. I'll be back."he left to go get some water and he heard someone come up behind him. He looked up from the fountain and saw Kelly looking at him.

"Your really amazing tonight Lucas. I love watching you play."

"Thanks. Your not too bad at what you do either."

"Well thank you. So I was wondering if you were going to Nathan's party tonight."

"I was thinking about it, why?"

"Well I was going with Theresa, but she just decided that she didn't want to take her car. She wants to drink and not have to worry about her it. So now I don't have a ride. I was thinking that if you were going, maybe you could give me a ride."

"Sure, I'll give you a ride, as long as you don't mind riding in a tow truck. That's the only car I've got."he hated to admit it, but he was still a little embarrassed when he had to say out loud that he drove his uncle's tow truck because he couldn't afford a car. It was funny because Brooke being as rich as she was, he was never embarrassed around her, he was always at ease. She liked him for him._ "Damn, how could I screw that up."_he thought to himself.

"No, I don't mind. If it gets us to where we need to be, who cares."she laughed."

"That's what I always say. I should go back in. I'll find you after the game."he smiled at her then turned to leave.

She watched him walk away before jumping up excitedly. Who would have thought that after Brooke had one of her fits and made her switch partners in class, this would be how things turned out."Thank you Brooke."she said out loud.

* * *

Brooke sat down next to Jack. 

"You were amazing you know that?"

She smiled at him."Yeah I do. I'm always amazing."

He laughed."Your not too full of yourself, I see."

"Me full of myself."she placed her hand over her heart."No, never."she laughed."So are you having fun?"

"I guess so. I'm just not that big a fan of basketball. The highlight for me was watching you."

"Thanks. I should probably get back. I just wanted to come over and say hi."

"Well then hi back."

"Yeah, hi. I'll see you after the game."she saw him about to lean in to kiss her, so she jumped up before he got too close. Haley was right, she didn't need to hurt Lucas. He was the last person she wanted to hurt. She walked back to the floor and met Haley. She was about to ask her about Nathan, when she heard someone run in and start to talk excitedly.

"Oh, my god Theresa. You will never guess who I'm going to Nathan's party with."

"Who?"

"Lucas."

"Scott?"

"Yep. I never thought that would ever happen, but it did. I am going to have so much fun tonight."shrieked Kelly.

Brooke couldn't believe what she just heard. She knew she shouldn't care, she was going with Jack, but she did. Lucas wasn't supposed to take anyone, he was supposed to still want her. She knew she was being stupid, but she didn't care. This wasn't supposed to happen. She didn't want him to be with anybody, especially not a cheerleader on her squad.

Haley caught the look on her face."Hey, don't be upset. I'm sure it's nothing. Besides your going with someone else too. What was he supposed to do?"

"I know, I'm being stupid, but did he have to choose Kelly?"

"Come here."Haley pulled her into a hug.

Lucas watched as Haley and Brooke hugged. He smiled to himself.

"They sure have come a long way. Hell we all have."said Nathan coming up behind him.

"Isn't that the truth. I'm really happy for them. They seem to be happy with their friendship. It's like the perfect combination, so different, yet so alike."

"I know. Brooke has always been a wonderful person, no matter what people think about her."said Nathan.

"Yeah, and Haley may be sensible most of the time, but she has a bad side too, and I'm sure Brooke wouldn't mind helping her explore it."

They both laughed a little at the though of that.

"So are you going to the beach house tonight? You could ride with us if you want."said Nathan. This being nice thing was still a little hard for him, but he was trying, for Haley's sake. He'd do anything for her.

"Na, it's cool. I don't need a lift. I'm taking the truck and Kelly's going with me."

Nathan's eyes widened."Since when?"

"Since about five minutes ago."

"What about Brooke?"

"What about her? She has Jack taking her, remember?"

"I don't think she's gonna like this man."

"What's there not to like? Kelly needed a ride and I'm giving her one. That's it. It's not like we're going together."

"No, that's exactly what your doing, going together."

"Whatever. Lets just get back to the game."

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. I really love them all. They mean everything to me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks. 

**Coming Up:**

The party.

Brooke and Lucas talk.

Peyton has a plan to keep Brooke hating Lucas.


	19. The Party Part I

**Chapter Nineteen**

_**The Party **_

_**Part I**_

Lucas and Kelly walked into the beach house together.

"Lucas, thanks for the ride and don't worry, I know it was just that, a ride. I don't expect you to stay by my side tonight."said Kelly with a smile. She hoped he wouldn't agree with her and want to be around her tonight.

"Well your welcome for the ride and I wouldn't mind spending time with you tonight, your not so bad."

She laughed."Thanks. I'm going to see if Theresa is here. Can I maybe find you later?"

"Sure. I'll definitely be here."he watched her as she walked off before going in search of Haley. He found her getting a soda to drink."Hey Hales, how's it going?"

She turned and smiled at him."I'm glad you came."

"Me too."

"So it was a good game huh? You and Nathan were great tonight. You two totally showed Whitey he made the right decision when forcing you to work together."she continued to smile at him, knowing he wouldn't like her last comment.

"Great."said Lucas sarcastically."Thant's exactly what I wanted to accomplish."he rolled his eyes.

"Hey, come on. You two work really well together, there's no denying that, so don't even try. Besides it's really good for the team, so it better continue."

"So is Brooke here yet?"asked Lucas totally ignoring her last comment.

"How did I know you'd ask that?"she laughed."I don't think so. I'm sure she would have found me if she was, but Peyton's here."

"Great. Lets hope she doesn't start anything with Brooke tonight."

"Oh, if she does, I'll personally kick her out."she again laughed and then turned when she heard someone come into the kitchen. Lucas followed her gaze and saw Brooke and Jack walk in.

Brooke now felt awkward. She knew he was going to be here. Hell, Kelly told anybody who would listen that he was bringing her. She just didn't think he'd be the first one she saw. She couldn't help looking at him. She was always pulled to him. He caught her eye and she quickly turned to Haley."Hey Tutor Girl. Where's Nate?"

"I don't know, around somewhere. He went off with Tim a while ago."she turned to Jack."Hi, I'm Haley, Brooke's friend."

He held out his hand for her to shake."Hi, I'm Jack. It's nice meeting you. So this is a famous Nathan Scott party huh? I've never been to one."he looked around."I'm very impressed."

"Well don't let Nathan hear that. He lets the littlest compliments go to his head. He'll definitely want to keep you around to boost his ego."cut in Brooke. Everybody laughed except Lucas.

"I'll see you later Hales."Lucas turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Brooke looked at Haley and then Jack."I'm going to go talk to him. I'll be right back."she walked out after Lucas."Lucas."he stopped not expecting to hear her calling him. She walked up to him and gave him an awkward smile."Hi."

"Hey."he said looking down.

"So where are you running off to?"

"I just need to get some air. It was beginning to get a little stuffy in there."

"Oh. Well how've you been?"

"I'm fine Brooke. What are you doing? I thought you said you didn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"I don't."she saw his face fall."I mean, everything I said that day I meant at the time, but we're friends with the same people Luke. I don't want things to be awkward between all of us. I don't want for you to feel like you have to leave the room if I come in."

"Well don't worry. I don't feel like that."

"Yes you do. Look what just happened in there."she said pointing in the direction of the kitchen.

"Well excuse me if I didn't want to stay in the same room and have a laugh with you and your new boyfriend Brooke."Lucas spit out.

Brooke let out a sigh."He's not my boyfriend Lucas. He just asked me out and I didn't know how to say no."

"So your saying you really don't want to be here with him, you just couldn't say no?"

"No, that's not what I said. I am here because I want to be, just like your here with Kelly because you want to be."

"I'm not here with her okay? I just gave her a ride. That's all."

"I don't care if your with her or not. I just want us to be able to be in the same room together for Haley's sake. Do you think we can do that?"

"Sure, whatever."he said as he walked away from her. It hurt to hear her say she didn't care who he was with. In a way he kinda hoped she would be a little jealous, but she wasn't. She could care less about him.

Peyton stood not to far from the two and watched everything and knew more than ever that what she was going to do, needed to be done. If not those two would be getting back together soon.

Brooke walked back into the kitchen and looked around."Where's Jack?"

"He went to take a look around. He'll be back soon. So how did it go, with Lucas I mean?"

She shook her head."Not too good. He doesn't want to be anywhere near me or my new boyfriend. We weren't even finished talking and he walked away."

"I'm sorry, but you knew this wasn't going to be easy for either of you. Lucas loves you, so seeing you with Jack obviously wasn't going to get a good reaction from him."

"I know. I guess I should have been more considerate. I know how I felt when I heard Kelly going on and on about Lucas bringing her here. It wasn't good."

"You see."

"I should try and talk to him again. I really should apologize for bringing Jack here and I definitely should apologize for everything I said to him the other night. Maybe being friends isn't that bad of and idea. Who knows what could come out of it."

"That's right. Who knows. Go talk to him. I'll be right here when your done."

Brooke walked out of the kitchen once again to find Lucas. He was standing near the back door with Jake. She walked up to the two."Hey Jake."

"Hi Brooke. What's up?"

"Nothing really."she turned to Lucas, who wasn't looking in her direction."Can I steal Lucas for a minute?"

Lucas now turned to her. He was surprised she had come to talk to him a second time.

"Yeah, sure thing Brooke."he turned to Lucas."Hey man I'll talk to you later."he patted him on the back before walking off.

"What's up Brooke? I thought we said everything that needed to be said."said Lucas sounding more annoyed than he actually was.

"What's your problem Lucas? Is my trying to talk to you bothering you? Please let me know if it is. I'll stop."

He lowered his voice."No, it's not that. I'm sorry."

"You should be. You've been acting like a jerk."

"I said I was sorry Brooke."

"I know, look I just wanted to..."she reached out and grabbed his hand. He looked down at their intertwining hands and then back to her. She was about to continue, but was cut off and quickly removed her hand from his.

Kelly ran to Lucas and practically made him fall over. She obviously had too much to drink in the short time she was there."Hey Luke, have you seen Theresa? I can't find her anywhere."she turned to Brooke."Oh, hi Brooke. I didn't see you there."she smiled at her and then turned back to Lucas.

"No, I can't say that I have, but I'm sure that she's around here somewhere."he was trying to be polite, but was really furious that she had interrupted them when things looked like they were about to change.

"Will you help me find her please?"

Lucas looked at Brooke."I can't. I'm sorry. I'm kinda in the middle of something with Brooke."

Brooke waved her hands in front of her."No, it's okay. I'm sure your date wants to spend some time with you."

"Thanks Brooke."said Kelly completely oblivious to the tension all around.

"Brooke."said Lucas questioningly.

"No Lucas, go ahead. I'll see you guys later."

Lucas watched her as she walked away and soon was drug off by Kelly. Fifteen minutes later they found Theresa coming out of a room with a disheveled looking Vegas coming out after her. Lucas kindly unloaded Kelly and walked off to find Brooke. He needed to know what she had to say. It seemed important and she had even held his hand. That to him was a good sign. He saw Haley and stopped her."Hey, Hales have you seen Brooke?"

"Yeah, she's..."she stopped and scanned the room."She's right over there."she pointed to Brooke, who was standing close to Jack.

They were talking. He watched and saw Jack lean into her and whisper something into her ear causing her to laugh. She looked like she was having fun.

"What's going on Lucas?"asked Haley.

"Nothing, never mind."he walked out of the house and onto the beach.

Haley saw Nathan talking near by and pulled him away."What's wrong Haley?"

"What isn't wrong tonight?"

"If you actually want to talk about something, your gonna have to be a little more specific."laughed Nathan.

"Well Brooke and Lucas are both her with other people, when they really just want to be here with each other."

"Is that what they both told you or are you just assuming?"

"No, they haven't actually come out and said it, but Lucas got really upset when he saw Brooke with Jack and Brooke stormed into the kitchen a little earlier ready to kill Kelly for throwing herself at Lucas."

"Look Haley, this is none of our business. You seriously need to stay out of this. Brooke isn't ready to forgive Lucas right now, so if she's having fun with Jack, then let her."

"I am letting her, but she is ready to forgive Lucas. She knows that he really loves her and is willing to start over as friends."

"Well then let them be friends."

"Your okay with that?"asked Haley somewhat shocked. Not too long ago Nathan let it be known that he wanted Lucas to stay as far away from Brooke as possible and was willing to do anything to make that happen.

"I don't want her to, but if that's what she wants, then I can't stop her and if she decides she wants to be with him again, all I can do is help make sure he doesn't hurt her again."

Haley leaned in and kissed him.

"What was that for?"asked Nathan when she pulled away.

"No reason really, your just growing up and I love you."

"I'm growing up?"he asked confused.

"Yes. I told you that Brooke was about to forgive Lucas and instead of blowing up like you have numerous times, your letting her make her own decision."she wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him again.

"Well if I would have known that being like this would get that reaction out of you, I would have grown up a long time ago."he laughed and pulled her into another kiss.

* * *

Lucas sat on the sand looking out into the water. He didn't know how things had gotten so complicated so fast. All he wanted was to be with Brooke, but he couldn't and it was all his fault. Everything was his fault. Brooke was here with another guy because of him and he couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand seeing her laugh with someone else. He wanted with everything to be the one that made her laugh and smile, but because of his stupidity that would never be. If only he would have realized what he had before it was too late. If he never would have gone with Peyton that day nothing would have happened. If he had just told Brooke the day it happened, then maybe she would have been able to somehow forgive him. He had all of these what ifs floating around in his head, that all led back to him doing the wrong thing that couldn't be taken back and because of that, Brooke would never take him back. He had never loved anybody this much and it killed him that he couldn't do anything about it. He continued to stare out into the water thinking about Brooke. 

"Hey you don't look to good. It looks like you could use a friend."

He looked up at her."Yeah, you know I could, but you don't qualify as one anymore, so why don't you just get the hell out of here Peyton. I don't need this tonight."

"What crawled up your ass and died? Anyways, I wasn't talking about me being your friend. I was talking about this."she waved an almost full bottle of Vodka at him. His eyes narrowed."Hey, it's always been a great friend to me and Brooke. Why don't you try it."she held it out to him.

"I don't want it thank you. Now if you don't mind I'd like to be out here alone."he turned back to the water.

"Sure thing Broody."

Lucas' face shot back to her."Don't you ever call me that!"he shouted. Who the hell did she think she was calling him by that?

She raised her hands in defense."Sorry. I didn't know that that name was reserved for only Brooke."

"Well now you do."he said annoyed. He just wanted her to leave. She was the last thing he needed right now.

"Yeah, I guess I do."she bent down near him and sat the Vodka next to him. He looked at her.

"In case you get thirsty later."she shrugged and walked away.

* * *

Brooke walked into the kitchen and saw Haley and Nathan kissing."Eww, gross, this place is full of rooms, yet you two pick this one to do that in."she said motioning to the two. 

"Sorry Brooke."

"Yeah, I just couldn't control myself."said Nathan as he pulled Haley back into him and kissed her neck.

"Seriously guys that is gross, knock it off."

He continued to kiss her until Haley pushed him away."So have you talked to Lucas yet?"

She shook her head."No, not since Kelly threw herself at him, why?"

"It's just that Lucas was looking for you a little while ago. He seemed pretty eager."

"Did he have his little girlfriend with him?"she rolled her eyes at the thought.

"No Brooke, he was by himself."

"Good, but no I haven't seen him. Do you know where he went?"

"Last I saw he was going outside to the beach. Please tell me your going to go find him."

"Sure why not. You did say outside right?"

"Yeah. Good luck."said Haley happily. She had a feeling that after tonight everything would back to normal and she had never wanted anything more.

"Thanks Haley."

"Hey are you sure about this B?"asked Nathan. He couldn't just let her go without making sure she really thought about this.

"I think so."she nodded."No, I know so."

"Okay, then I won't say anything more about it."he smiled at her.

"Thanks Nate."she walked through the back door and immediately saw Lucas with Peyton. There was a bottle of alcohol between them. This was the last thing she thought she'd see when she came out here. She quickly turned around and went back into the kitchen.

"Well that was fast. Did you change your mind or something?"asked Haley.

"No, but he's a little busy right now with Peyton. I didn't think he'd appreciate me interrupting them."

"Oh come on Brooke, I'm sure it was nothing."

"You mean like all the times they made out and swore it was nothing? I don't even care anymore. I need a drink."she went and got herself a beer.

Peyton walked through the kitchen."Hey guys." she smiled and then walked out. She needed to stay close though. If Lucas drank the Vodka and she knew he would, she wanted to be the one who greeted the drunk Lucas. All she needed to do was get drunk Lucas upstairs and everything would be perfect. She just hoped he drank enough.

"You see, I told you it was nothing."said Haley once Peyton left the room."If it was anything, she'd still be out there with him."

"I don't know, maybe your right."said Brooke.

"Hey there you are. I've been looking for you everywhere."said Jack.

"I'm sorry I've been looking for Lucas. I really needed to talk to him. Are you having fun?"

"Yeah kinda. Can we talk for a second?"

"Sure."she turned to Haley."I'll be right back."she walk out with Jack."So what's up?"

"I think it was a mistake that we came here together."

"What?"

"It's okay Brooke, you can admit it. I know you'd rather be here with Lucas."

"That's not true."

"Yes it is. You've spent more time talking to him and trying to find him then you've spent with me, but it's okay. I should have known that things weren't really over with you two. I just really liked you and thought that that would eventually change, but it won't. I saw you and Lucas talking earlier and I can still see how much you care for him. Maybe you should give him another chance."

"I don't think you know what he did to me."

"I do know about that, hell everybody knows, but I can also see that he still cares about you too. I don't know much about Lucas and Peyton, but I can tell it's not there with them. I haven't even seen him go anywhere around her, but I have seen him try numerous times with you. Maybe you need somebody who isn't close to the both of you to be objective and maybe that's me. Give him a second chance Brooke. I don't think you'll regret it."he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek."I'm going to go ahead and go. Do you think that Nathan can give you a ride home?"she nodded."Okay well then I guess I'll see you at school on Monday. I hope you get what you want. Your a great girl and you deserve the world."he turned and walked away.

"Hey."Jack turned to face her."Thank you. You really are a great guy."he smiled at her and then walked away. She slowly walked back into the kitchen."Hey, where did Nathan go?"

"I don't know. He said he'd be back. Where's Jack?"

"He left."

"What happened?"

"He said he could tell there was still something between me and Lucas and that I should go for it."

"Wow that was really sweet of him, considering he likes you and all."

"I know. He's a really great guy, to bad he isn't Lucas though."

"Speaking of Lucas, are you going to follow Jacks advice and go talk to him?"

She rolled her eyes."Yes I am, but first I'm going to go and have some fun. This whole night has been bleak and I need to change that. I'll see you later Haley."she smiled before walking out.

* * *

Lucas sat on the beach feeling more alone then ever. The one person he wanted, wanted nothing to do with him. He looked down at the bottle Peyton left him and picked it up."What the hell, it can't hurt."he opened the bottle and took a drink. It burned as it went down, but it wasn't too bad. He'd get used to it soon.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for the reviews. They were great. I hope you liked this chapter. I had to make it into two parts. It was coming out way to long and I really wanted to post something today. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks. 

**Coming Up:**

Brooke does some dancing.

Peyton continues her plan.

Haley gets a late phone call.


	20. The Party Part II

**Chapter Twenty**

_**The Party**_

_**Part II**_

Brooke walked into the living room and saw that one one was dancing. She stood and looked at what looked like the dullest party she'd ever been to. She turned when she felt someone place a hand on her arm, it was Haley who stood next to Nathan. She raised her arms."What kind of party is this?"

Haley looked around and shrugged.

Brooke left her friends side and walked up to Tim, who was talking to Vegas. She placed her hand on his arm."Dance with me Dim."

He turned to face her with a look of shock on his face, but it quickly changed to what she knew he thought was a sexy grin."Hell yes. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the Timster for long."

"Tim just shut up and dance with me."sure he was a bit of an idiot and didn't know quite when to shut up, but he had a good heart and he was one hell of a dancer.

Brooke started moving against Tim to the music. Haley soon joined them after having to drag Nathan over. He was a pretty good dancer too, but hated doing it. The four of them continued to dance to the music and occasionally laughed when Tim would make an obnoxious move.

Lucas stood in the door way of the kitchen watching them dance, with the bottle of Vodka still in his hand. He took another drink. The liquid had now stopped burning as it made its way down his throat. He was grateful for that. He took yet another drink. Suddenly he was hit with a weird feeling. He didn't know what was going on. He knew he wasn't drunk, he hadn't drank enough for that, but something was definitely up. As Lucas stood there watching Brooke dance everything suddenly started moving in slow motion. He quickly closed his eyes and hoped that when he opened them everything would be normal.

"Hey Luke are you okay?"

He opened his eyes to see Peyton standing in front of him."I don't know. I'm not sure. This is some pretty strong Vodka you gave me."he said while shaking the bottle in her face causing it to spill over.

She placed her hand on his to stop him from shaking it."It's just Vodka Lucas. Maybe it's hitting you hard because you hardly drink."

Lucas nodded."Maybe your right. Now what do you want Peyton?"

She shrugged."Nothing really. I just saw you over here and you didn't look too good, so I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well I'm fine, you can leave now."

"You know I'm not going to do that Lucas and your not fine. Look at you."

"I said I'm fine."

"Okay, okay, your fine. Maybe I should take that bottle from you though. I don't think you need anymore."

Lucas rolled his eyes."Oh how sweet, your pretending to care."he said coldly.

"What are you talking about? You know I care about you, hell you know I love you, now give me that bottle."she grabbed it out of his hand.

Kelly and Theresa happened to walk by and stopped when they saw what was going on."Hey Lucas, are you okay? You don't look too good."said Kelly.

"Well he's fine, right Lucas?"said Peyton annoyed that they'd been interrupted.

Lucas looked from Peyton to Kelly."Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure Lucas? I know I'm a little drunk, but you look worse than me."

"He said he was fine, damn it. I'll take care of everything. Now why don't you two just leave us alone!"shouted Peyton.

Her outburst shocked both girls who in turn looked at Lucas to see if he'd object. He didn't, all he did was lean on the door frame with his eyes closed, so the girls both walked away.

"Good."said Peyton.

Lucas opened his eyes and turned to look at Brooke."God she is so beautiful. I need to talk to her."he took a step forward and almost fell over. Peyton had to hold him up.

"Lucas are you okay?"she was now a little concerned.

"I said I was fine."he pulled away from her and again stumbled.

"I don't care what you said, your obviously not okay. I think you need to rest. Come on, let me take you to lie down upstairs."

He again pulled away from her."I don't need to lie down. I need to talk to Brooke."

"You will talk to her, but later. She shouldn't see you this drunk Lucas."she held him around the waist and walked him upstairs to an empty bedroom.

Kelly saw Peyton and Lucas go upstairs and knew exactly what was about to go on up there. She shook her head in disgust.

* * *

Peyton closed the door behind them and put Lucas on the bed. He immediately fell backwards."Hey Lucas, are you awake? Come on you need to sit up."she helped him up. 

"My mouth is a little dry. Will you get me something to drink?"

"Sure."she walked into the restroom that was attached to the room and poured him a glass of water. She needed him a little more awake, if her plan was going to work. She knew nothing was really gonna happen, she just needed it to look like it did. She walked back to the bed and was happy that he was still sitting up and awake."Here you go Lucas, drink up."

He took the glass from her and as fast as it hit his lips, it was gone. He had never had his throat be this dry before.

Peyton sat on the bed next to him and began to run his back."Are you feeling better now?"he nodded."Good."she lowered her face to his cheek and kissed it."Are you sure your okay Luke?"

He turned to her."Yes, but it's kinda hot in here."

She smiled at him."Oh, I can fix that. Lift up your arms."he didn't even feel himself lift his arms above his head, but he did. She pulled off his shirt and threw it to the floor."There, is that better?"he nodded."Good. I'm glad I could help."she rested her head on his shoulder and placed her arms around his waist.

* * *

Brooke started laughing when Tim did another what he liked to call his "signature moves" and fell to the floor. She was done. She had danced enough tonight and accomplished what she set out to, more people were dancing."Thank you Tim. Your a great dance partner and I do have to say you kept me laughing, but I'm tired. I think that's enough for tonight. I'm going to get something to drink." 

"That's cool, it's better for you, we wouldn't want you to overdose on your Tim time."

Everybody laughed at him. That of course was the Tim they knew, always saying dumb things like that.

"I'll be back. I need to use the restroom."said Tim completely oblivious to the fact the were laughing at him and not with him.

"Go use the one in my room upstairs. I bet the ones down here are being used."said Nathan.

"Thanks man."Nathan nodded and then followed Haley and Brooke into the kitchen.

Brooke grabbed a beer."Do you guys want one?"

Haley shook her head, while Nathan extended his had taking what she offered him.

"So that was pretty fun huh? I love dancing. Tim is one hell of a dancer."said Brooke.

"Yeah, but I bet you would have rather been dancing with Lucas."said Haley with a smile.

"How did you know I was thinking that?"

"I just know you, that's all. Are you still going to talk to him, now that you had your share of Tim time."she laughed.

"Yeah, I just hope he's still here. I haven't seen him in a while."

"I just saw Kelly, so I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

"Okay well I'm going to go find him. I'll be right back."Brooke walked all around the house and couldn't find him anywhere. She turned to go outside to see if he was maybe still out there, but he wasn't. She was about to give up when she saw Kelly. She walked up to her."Hey Kelly, Theresa. Have either of you seen Lucas? I can't find him anywhere and I really need to talk to him."

Kelly looked away.

Brooke sensed she was uncomfortable."Look, I know that your here with him tonight and probably don't want me anywhere near him, being the ex girlfriend and all, but all I want to do is talk to him. I promise."

Kelly turned to her."That's not it Brooke."

"Then what's going on?"

"It's just that...well I saw Lucas go upstairs a while ago."

"And?"

"And he wasn't alone, if you know what I mean."

Her heart stopped. What did she mean he wasn't alone? Who could he possibly go upstairs with?"Who was he with?"she needed to hear her answer.

She looked down.

"Kelly?"

She hesitated."Peyton. Lucas went upstairs with Peyton after we saw them drinking together."

Brooke shook her head. She couldn't believe that after everything Lucas said to her, he could go and be with Peyton. It must have all been a lie. It made her sick to her stomach to think that she was about to forgive him and try to start out as friends, all the while he still wanted Peyton."Okay, well thanks for telling me ."she tried to give her a small smile, but failed miserably.

"I'm really sorry Brooke, but you deserved to know. We all know how you feel about him and Peyton is an even bigger bitch then we all thought she was for doing this to you."said Theresa, who patted her shoulder.

"Thanks."she turned and walked away from them. She decided to see for herself what Lucas was doing. Maybe Kelly was wrong or maybe she was lying to keep her away from Lucas, either way she needed to know. This was too important to just take someones word. She quickly went upstairs and opened doors, saying she was sorry to the people who were in them. She walked up to the next room and opened the door. She saw Lucas and Peyton sitting on the bed and Lucas didn't have his shirt on. They had their hands around each other. She couldn't believe it, Kelly was telling the truth. Hurt, anger, and sadness coursed through her.

"Oh my god Brooke. What are you doing in here? You weren't supposed to see this."said Peyton as a huge smile appeared across her face. This wasn't part of the plan, but it was even better than what she had come up with.

"Sure I wasn't. I bet this was your plan all along. Was Kelly in on it?"

"Kelly? What does she have to do with this?"

"She was the one who told me you two were up here."

"Well I'll have to thank her later, but no, I can't stand the girl. I guess you can say she was in the right place at the right time."

"I thought you said this wasn't a plan."

"I lied."

"Of course you did. That's all you've been doing lately. Well don't worry your plan worked. I'm here and I see you and Lucas together. You can have him. This is just sick. I can't stand the thought of either one of you."

Lucas looked down and saw that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He looked at Peyton, who was still sitting next to him and then to Brooke, who stood by the door. He couldn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. He didn't even know how he got here.

"Is this what you wanted Lucas? Peyton. Well you can have her. I don't want you ever coming near me again."she turned and ran out of the room, practically running down Tim. She ran down the stairs wanting to get out of the house before the tears that she was holding back fell. She didn't want anyone to see her. She ran past Nathan, who when he saw her, grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Brooke what's wrong? Are you okay?"

She hated that question. Why was it that every time someone asked if you were okay, you automatically started to cry? Tears rolled down her cheek and she quickly tried to wipe them away."I'm fine Nathan."

"Brooke fine people don't just burst into tears. What's going on?"

Haley walked up to them."Oh my god, Brooke are you okay?"

There was that damn question again."Look I really don't want to talk about it right now. I just want to get the hell out of here. Can I borrow your car Nate?"

"Sure if you want, but I'd rather you let me take you home."

She shook her head."No, please I just want to be by myself right now."she held out her hand. Nathan hesitated, but then placed his keys in her hand.

"Please call me Brooke later. Tell me what's going on."

"I will."she leaned into him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before she left.

Haley continued to look at Nathan."What the hell was that about?"

"I don't know."

Tim came down the stairs and walked up to Nathan."Hey is Brooke okay?"

"No, why? What the hell did you do to her?"asked Nathan with a raised voice.

Tim held up his hands."Hey, I didn't do anything to her Nate. I saw her running out of the room next to yours and she looked like she was about to cry."

"She ran out of the room before or after mine?"

"Before."

Nathan ran up the stairs taking them two at a time. Haley and Tim went up after him. He threw open the door and saw Peyton coming out of the restroom and Lucas on the bed with out a shirt on. Before thinking, Nathan had Lucas up against the wall."What the hell did you do to her?"he pushed his arm up to his throat.

Lucas didn't know if it was all the water he had drank or all the adrenaline pumping, but his brain started to function a little."What the hell are you doing Nathan? Let me go, you dick."he tried to push him away, but failed.

Nathan pushed his arm against his throat harder."I'm not letting your ass go until you tell me what the hell you did to make Brooke run out of here crying. Although I probably already know."he looked at Peyton."Look who your in here with."

"Brooke was crying? What? I don't know anything about that, so let me go."

Nathan pressed him harder and Lucas began to cough.

Haley ran up to them."Nathan let him go. Your seriously hurting him. Please stop."

He looked down at his pleading girlfriend and let him go.

Lucas caught himself from falling to the floor and took a couple of deep breaths. He grabbed the water from Peyton and drank it. He looked at her when he was finished."What the hell am I doing in here with you?"

"Don't you even try to act like you don't know how you got here. Brooke must have seen something going on in here to run out crying. Your disgusting. You two really do deserve each other. I want you to stay the hell away from Brooke. I mean it this time. Now get the hell out of my house."

Peyton started to walk out, but was stopped by Haley."No, not you. I want to talk to you."

"I'm serious Lucas. Get your clothes and get the hell out of here!"shouted Nathan.

Lucas looked at Nathan as the room began to spin. _What the hell is going on?_ He held onto the dresser as he made his way to the door. He slowly walked down the stairs and as he thought he was about to fall, he stopped to catch his balance. He then felt two pairs of hands go around him and pull him the rest of the way down and walked him outside, where they threw him down to the ground and slammed the door in his face. Nathan and Tim went back upstairs and waited for Haley to finish with Peyton.

* * *

"What the hell do you think your doing?"asked Haley. 

"I don't know what your talking about."said Peyton matter of factly.

"Stooping to using a drunk Lucas to make it look like something happened up here. That's pretty low, even for you. Brooke's smart. She's gonna see this for what it is. I'm sure of it."

"I don't care what you think Haley. I didn't do anything wrong. He wanted to bring me up here and I came, end of story."

"Whatever. I don't really care what you and Lucas do. If he's stupid enough to actually want you over Brooke, then I can't stop that, but I can stop whether you throw it in Brooke's face. Stay the hell away from her or you'll have to deal with me. I don't normally go for physical altercations, but I can. I'd love to slap that smile off your face the same way Brooke did."

Peyton stopped smiling."What went on in here is none of your business, so stay out of it."she tried to push passed her.

Haley grabbed her arm."When you hurt my friend, I make it my business. Now I mean it, stay away from Brooke."she turned and walked out of the room leaving Peyton a little stunned. She had never acted like that, but seeing everything they had put Brooke through was really getting to her.

* * *

It was now about 2:30 am and Haley was helping Nathan clean up. Everybody was now gone, except for Tim, who had passed out on the couch." I know you probably don't want to think about this, but what do you think happened up there?"asked Haley. 

"I don't know, they probably slept together. Lucas better stay the hell way from Brooke from now on. I was alright with them getting back together earlier, but not anymore, not after this. If he so much as tries to talk to her, I'll kick his ass. I'm dead serious this time."

"I can't believe he would do this. If he did this, I don't know if I can forgive him, myself."

"If he did this? He did do this Haley. You saw it with your own eyes!"he shouted.

"Okay. You don't have to yell at me. I didn't do anything."

He walked up to her and wrapped her in his arms."I'm sorry. I just can't stand him. He has hurt Brooke for the last time. There is no excuse that he can give that will make what happened earlier alright."

"I know. He really screwed up this time. I hope it was worth it. He probably lost a lot of people that care about him tonight. I hope he doesn't expect me to be okay with this."

"He better not because..."he was cut off by a cell phone ringing.

"Oh, it's mine."she went to get it off the counter and looked at the screen."It's Kieth."she quickly answered."Hello."

"Haley, it's Keith. I know it's late, but something has happened to Lucas."

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. I really appreciate all of them. I hope you liked this chapter. I left it off with a sorta cliffhanger type thing. Sorry about that, but we all like suspense right? I wanted to post this chapter sooner, but this site wouldn't let me. I'm sorry about that. Anyways, let me know what you think about this chapter. Please read and review. 

**Coming Up:**

Haley finds out what happened to Lucas.

Karen is back.

Everyone finds out some shocking news.


	21. Unexpected Things

**Chapter Twenty One**

_**Unexpected Things**_

_"Haley, it's Keith. I know it's late, but somethings happened to Lucas."_

What? What's wrong with him? Keith?"

"He's been in a car accident. I don't know much, but he's in surgery right now. I just thought you would want to know."

"Yeah, of course I do. I'll be right there."she hung up and just stared at Nathan not knowing what to do.

"Haley, what is it? What's going on?"

"It's Lucas. He was in a car accident. I need you to take me to the hospital now. Hurry lets go."she ran to the door and turned back when she realized that he wasn't behind her."What are you waiting for Nathan? Lets go."

"I can't."she stared at him."Brooke has my car, remember?"

"Shit. Well call her and tell her to come pick us up."

He pulled out his cell and was about to dial her number when he heard a sound coming from the couch. He closed his phone.

"What the hell are you doing? Call her. We need to hurry. I have to see Lucas."screamed Haley through tears. She had never been more scared in her life.

Nathan walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders."Calm down Haley. Tim's here, we'll take his car."

"Oh, okay well lets go."she quickly ran out the door not bothering to check if he was following.

Nathan walked up to a passed out Tim and found his car keys in his pocket and followed Haley out.

* * *

Nathan let Haley off the car in front of the emergency room and went to park the car. The ride over had been dead silent. What was there to talk about? Nothing. They were both too worried about what was waiting for them in that hospital.

Haley ran into the hospital and immediately saw Keith."Keith. Oh my god. Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay."

Keith shook his head."I don't know sweetie. They haven't come out to tell me anything yet. He's still in surgery."

"What about Karen? Does she know about Lucas?"

"Yes she knows. The doctors needed consent to operate, so we called her. She faxed over her consent. She's on her way home now."

"What happened? Why was Lucas in this accident to begin with?"

"Well the doctors aren't too sure yet, but they think he had been drinking. You know I should really call Whitey. I'm sure he'd want to know about this. I'll be right back sweetie."

Haley stood there and tried to take a deep breath, but couldn't. She felt like she couldn't breathe at all. He was drunk and he had been driving, that's why he was in this accident and it was all her fault. She let her tears fall. There was no way she could stop them.

Nathan walked into the waiting room and saw his girlfriend in tears. He quickly walked up to her and drew her into a hug."It's okay baby. He's going to be fine."

She pulled out of his grasp."How do you know that, huh? Because we can't know that for sure. Nobody can. He is lying in here because of me."

"What? Haley, how is this your fault?"

"He was drunk Nathan. That's why he was in this accident."

"I'm sorry, but I still don't see how that is your fault."

"I knew that he was drunk and I didn't do anything about it. I didn't try and stop him. I was too angry at what he did to care how he got home. I should have known that he was going to drive and would probably get hurt. What a good best friend I am."she scoffed.

He grabbed onto each of her shoulders and turned her to him."Don't do this to yourself Haley. This in no way is your fault. If you need someone to blame, then blame me. I saw that he was drunk too and I literally threw him out of my house. I didn't care that he was going to drive home. I just wanted him gone."

"This isn't your fault Nathan."

"Yeah, I know, but this isn't your fault either."

She nodded and rested her head on his chest. He felt her tears seep through his shirt."What am I going to do Nathan? I can't lose him."

Nathan held her tighter."Your not. Lucas is strong. There is no way that he is not going to pull through this."

She looked up at him."Thank you. Thank you for trying to make me feel better."he kissed her forehead."I know that you can't stand him right now and here you are saying all these nice things."

He slightly pulled away from her and looked her in the eyes."I may not like how he treats Brooke, but I never wanted anything like this to happen to him. I hope you believe that."

"I do."she let go of his waist."Speaking of Brooke, I should probably call her. She would want to know what's going on. Can I borrow your phone? I left mine in the car."

He handed her his phone and she dialed Brooke's number."Damn it. Hey Brooke it's Haley. I really need you to call me as soon as you get this message. Something happened. Bye." she turned to Nathan."She has her phone off. It went straight to her voice mail."

"It's okay. We'll try her again later."

* * *

Two hours later Haley, Nathan, and Keith still sat in the waiting room with no news on Lucas.

"This is getting ridiculous. How can they not come out here and tell us what's going on?"Keith got up out of the very uncomfortable chair."I'll be right back, hopefully with some news."

Haley to got up."I'm going to try Brooke again."

"Haley you already left her four messages. I think that's enough."

"I don't care. I'm calling her again."she pulled out the phone and dialed."Brooke where the hell are you? And why aren't you answering your phone? I really need to talk to you. Fine, look I didn't want you to find out over the phone, but your not answering. Lucas was in a car accident. I don't know much right now, but you should really get down to the hospital as soon as you get this. Brooke call me okay."she hung up." I don't know why she hasn't called me back. Where is she?"

"Haley it's only..."he looked at his watch."5:30 in the morning. I'm sure she's just asleep. She'll call you as soon as she wakes up and sees that you called."

"Your right. I'm worrying about her for nothing."she looked passed him and saw Keith coming. She walked over to him."Did you find out anything?"

He shook his head."Not really. He's still in surgery. They lost him for a few minutes, but he came back. The nurse said as soon as he's out of surgery the doctor would come out here and talk to us."

"So what, we're supposed to just sit out here and wait? How are we supposed to do that?"

"It's okay Haley, calm down. As soon as they know something, they'll let us know."said Nathan trying to reassure her.

"I know. It's just all this waiting is starting to get to me. He has to be okay. He just has to."

"And he will be."

* * *

It seemed like they had been there waiting forever, when Karen rushed into the waiting room.

"Keith? Oh my god. What's going on. What happened to my boy?"

Keith wrapped his arms around her."I'm sorry Karen. I should have made him stay home tonight. This is all my fault."

Karen pulled away from him."No, this isn't your fault Keith. There is no way you could have known this was going to happen."she looked around and saw Haley and Nathan there."Was he alone? Was it his fault? What about the other driver? Will somebody please tell me what happened?"

Keith took her hand and walked her to a chair. He sat her down."Okay, I don't now to much, but yes Lucas was by himself. The other driver wasn't hurt much. He had the green light and said Lucas turned right in front of him. He tried to stop, but he couldn't."

Karen began to cry harder. Thinking about what must have been going through Lucas' head as the car hit him was too much for her. Seeing Karen cry in turn made Haley start to cry. Keith looked at the two, but knew he had to continue. Karen needed to know everything, even if she wasn't going to like it."The doctor thinks Lucas was driving drunk. They'll let us know more when he's out of surgery, which should be soon. It's been almost five hours."

"Lucas wouldn't drive drunk. He knows better. That has to be a mistake."said Karen shaking her head.

"It very well might be. We'll know for sure when the doctor comes."

Haley looked away from the two and looked at the clock on the wall. It was 7:45 am. She turned to Nathan."I'm going to try Brooke again."he nodded and she dialed.

"Hello."

"Oh my god Brooke. It's about time you answered. I've been calling you all night."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Did you get my messages?"

Brooke sighed into the phone."Yeah, I got them."

"All of them?"

"Yes."

"So then you know about Lucas?"

"Yes."

Haley was beginning to get frustrated that she was only giving her one word answers."Well then why didn't you call me back?"

"I was going to. I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"How is he?"

"We still don't know anything. So are you getting ready to come over here? We're all here."

"No, I'm not going to the hospital."

"Brooke, Lucas needs his friends right now. You have to come."

"I'm sorry Haley, but I can't. There's nothing I can do for him there."

"You can just be here for him Brooke. Look, I know you probably hate him, but you need to put that aside right now. We are all upset because of what he did last night, but..."she was cut off.

"I'm sorry Haley. I have to go. I'll talk to you later."she hung up. Tears poured down her face. She hadn't been able to stop crying since she got Haley's messages. She couldn't believe it. Yes she was angry at him, but she loved him even more. This was the last thing she wanted to happen. She knew the right thing to do was to go to the hospital and wait with everybody to make sure he was okay. She wanted more than anything to be there when they found out how he was, but she couldn't bring herself to get out of bed. She was afraid that if she was there and they got bad news she would completely fall apart in front of everyone and that was the last thing they needed. She sank down into her bed and continued to cry as she clutched her pillow tightly to her chest. She thought back to everything she had been through with Lucas and realized she had never cried this much over one person. Nobody had every had this much ability to hurt her and to her that meant she had to truly love him, even if she didn't want to. He had her heart and probably always would. She would gladly take the pain he caused her by messing with Peyton again, if it meant that this pain would go away. If it meant that Lucas would be at home right now in his bed, okay. There was nothing she wanted more than that.

* * *

Haley stared at the phone.

"What happened?"asked Nathan.

"She's not coming. She doesn't care. She's too angry at him to care. I can't believe her."she shook her head.

"I doubt that's what's going on Haley."

"She said there was nothing she could do for him here, so she wasn't coming."

"Maybe it's just too hard for her. Have you thought about that?"

"Yes I have, but it's hard for all of us too, but we're still here. She should be too. They love each other."

"Haley don't be upset with her okay? She needs to deal with this in her own way. She'll come around. I know it."he saw Haley look over his shoulder and he followed her gaze to the doctor who was now approaching Karen and Keith. She ran over and stood next to Karen and he followed.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Oliver. I just finished up with Lucas."

"How is he?"asked Karen.

"He's stable now. We lost him for a couple of minutes and he lost a lot of blood."

"Can I see him?"

"Yes of course, but due to the loss of blood and lack of oxygen he is now in a coma."

Karen gasped and turned to lean on Keith's chest. Nathan found himself holding onto Haley, more for himself then her. He couldn't believe this was happening. His brother was in a coma.

"When will he wake up?"asked Keith still holding onto a sobbing Karen.

"We're not sure of that. It's pretty much up to him. It could be a few hours, a few days, or in the worse case a few months, although we don't think it will take months. It's basically up to him and his body."

"I need to see him."said Karen pulling herself from Keith.

"Okay, I'll take you to him, but I need to ask you one question."Karen nodded."Is your son on any anti depressant or anti anxiety medications?"

"What? No, Lucas isn't on any medications right now. Why would you even ask that?"

"Well we found a rather large amount of Xanax in his system along with alcohol. This more than likely is what caused him to run that red light and cause the accident."

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you for all the reviews. They mean everything to me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I have Brooke crying a lot. I just want to show that there is more to her then what they showed us last season. She's a real person who hurts easy just like everybody else. She's just better at covering it up. I also know that you all want her and Lucas to get back together and don't worry it's coming. I wanted to make it realistic, so I didn't have her run back into his arms because he now realized she was the one he wanted. Let me know what you think. I really want to know what you like and dis like about it so please read and review. Thanks.

**Coming Up:**

Karen gives the doctor a piece of her mind.

Karen asks Haley her opinion.

Haley talks to Brooke in person.


	22. Sunshine

**A/N:**Okay, so I did some research on the drug Xanax and this is what I came up with. I apologize if anything I write is incorrect, although I hope it won't be. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks.

**Chapter Twenty Two**

_**Sunshine**_

"Wait, so your saying that my son had the drug Xanax in his system? That's not possible. He isn't depressed so there is no reason for him to be taking that stuff."

"I was afraid you were going to say that."said Dr. Oliver.

"What are you talking about?"asked Karen, now confused.

"Well what I'm getting at is, now adays it is really easy for kids to get their hands on this drug. They take it to get high. It gives them this disconnected, floating feeling that they seem to enjoy. They are aware of what's going on around them, but they don't know what they are doing, if that makes sense. It's hard to remember what they did while on this drug, so more than likely when Lucas wakes he won't remember what happened."

Karen simply stared at him incredulously."So you think my son was taking this drug for fun? I'm sorry, but that's just impossible. There has to be another explanation. You don't know Lucas."she said shaking her head.

"Most mothers don't know what is going on with their kids. They only think they do. Kids these days are good at hiding their addictions."

"No, I'm sorry, but Lucas would never touch that stuff, to get high or for any other reasons."said Haley."I am his best friend and I know him."

"Okay, maybe I should be the one to apologize. I don't want to argue with any of you. You have all been through way too much. I just want you to have an open mind. There is no doubt that this was in his blood. If he does have an addiction, he's gonna need some help and your denial won't do him any good."

Karen scoffed. Who did this doctor think he was? How dare he say she didn't know her own child."You can keep your self righteous opinions to yourself, doctor. I know my son wouldn't willingly take that drug, now I no longer want to discuss this with you so please take me to my son."said Karen not bothering to look the doctor in the face. She was furious at him for making assumptions. Yes, she understood he was doing his job and was looking out for Lucas, but once she told him Lucas wouldn't take drugs, he should have dropped it.

Dr.Oliver nodded."I'm sorry I do apologize if I over stepped. Your son's room is right this way."he motioned for her to follow.

Karen grabbed Keith's hand. She needed him to come with her. She turned to Haley."We'll be back. When we're done you can go see him."

"Thanks Karen."said Haley as Karen and Keith walked away. She turned to Nathan."Can you believe that jerk? How dare he imply Lucas is taking that crap to get high? He doesn't even know Lucas to be making that kind of assumption."

Nathan looked down at her."Don't get mad at me Haley, but what if he has been taking that stuff?"

"Not you too. You can't honestly think that."

"Listen, just hear me out. We both know that Lucas has been acting a little weird lately. I mean, I know I really have nothing to base that on myself, but from what you've told me, I think it's safe to say that's the truth. So everything with Brooke might have gotten to him and he might have needed and escape. Maybe the Xanax was his escape. It's like the doctor said, there's no denying that he took it. It was in his system."

"I don't know how it got there, but he sure as hell didn't take it to get high. I don't care what that doctor says. I know Lucas and even if you don't like to admit it so do you."

"Okay your right. If you don't think he did, then neither do I."

Haley shook her head."How could all of this have happened? Just last night when Brooke said she was going to forgive him I thought everything was going to go back to normal and now Lucas is in the hospital in a coma and Brooke hates him so much she doesn't care that he's here."

"That's not true. You know Brooke cares."

She sighed. She knew he was right."I know. I just wish I knew why she won't come. She's supposed to love him."

"She does. I'm sure she just needs to deal with this in her own way. She'll come around and come see him. I'm sure of it."

* * *

Haley and Nathan continued to sit in the waiting room. Karen turned the corner and walked up to them. Haley quickly stood up and walked the rest of the way to her."Karen, how is he?" 

"He's okay right now. He's stable, just in a coma. All we have to do is wait for him to wake up. They moved him to a private room, room 208. You can go see him now."she smiled.

Haley nodded and began to walk past her.

"Haley?"

She turned to face her."Yeah?"

She took a deep breath and let it out."Okay I just have to ask, you don't think that Lucas took the Xanax for the reason the doctor thinks, do you? If anybody knew what he was doing it would be you."

She walked up to Karen and held her hand."There is no way the doctor is right. Lucas wouldn't touch that stuff. I happen to think that somebody put it in his drink or he took it on accident."

"I was hoping you would say that, not that the other two are any better. I just don't want Lucas to have an addiction."

"He doesn't Karen. Don't worry about that."she let go of her hand and followed Nathan to see Lucas.

Nathan stopped right outside the door."I'm going to wait out here. You should see him alone."

She nodded a walked passed him into the room. She stood there and started to cry. She hated seeing him like this. He had a bandage on his head from hitting the windshield, the left side of his face was bruised and cut. She walked up to him and held his hand as the tears fell down her face."I am so sorry Lucas. I feel like this is my fault. I knew you were drunk and I should have known you were going to try to drive. I was just so upset with you for hurting Brooke that I didn't think and for that I am truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me. I don't know what I'd do without you Lucas. I need you to wake up. We all need you to wake up. Please Lucas, wake up."she pleaded as she continued to hold his hand in hers. She sat down in the chair next to him and continued to talk to him. She didn't know if he could hear her, but the doctors always said they could, so she was going on that. She talked to him about their pasts and couldn't help, but laugh when she remembered some of the things they had done.

After a while Nathan stood in the doorway and knocked on the wall."Hey, can I come in?"

"Sure."she smiled at him.

As he walked in his stomach turned at the sight of Lucas lying there on that bed. He walked up to him."Hey man, you look like hell. You need to wake up so that things can go back to normal and you can tell me where I can stick my opinions. We all need you to wake up Lucas, so don't keep us waiting too long."

They both sat there and talked to him until the nurse kicked them out. They passed Karen and Keith on their way out, promising they would come back later.

* * *

Two days later Lucas was still in a coma and Haley wasn't able to get a hold of Brooke. The last time she talked to her was when she hung up on her. She tried calling her over and over again and even went to her house a couple of times, but she never answered the phone or the door. She knew she was always there. She just assumed that she wasn't ready to talk, so she would just leave. 

It was now Monday and Haley hoped that she would finally get to talk to Brooke at school. Once she got to their first period she realized that Brooke hadn't come today. That really worried her. It wasn't like Brooke to keep herself hidden for days, without any human contact.

She walked to her locker after class to find Nathan there waiting for her.

He looked around."So where's Brooke? Did you get the chance to talk to her?"

She shook her head."No, she never made it to class."

"Okay, this is getting serious. I don't like it at all. I should go to her house and not leave until she answers and make sure she's alright."

"No, don't. I should be the one to talk to her. She's upset about Lucas. I think she would be able to talk to me about it more. I'll go see her during lunch."

"Okay, but if you can't get through to her then I'm going."

"That's fine with me."

"Haley, Nathan. Oh my god. I just heard. Is Lucas okay? Please say he's okay."pleaded Peyton as she ran up to them. After she heard what happened she knew it had to be her fault.

"Like you care Peyton. Why don't you just leave us alone?"Haley tried to push passed her. She was the last person she wanted to talk to right now.

"No, wait. Look you may hate me and I'm fine with that, but I do care about him. I think you know that. So please just tell me what's going on. I promise to leave right after."

Haley sighed."Fine, Lucas is doing okay right now, but he's in a coma."she stopped when Peyton gasped and placed her hand over her mouth.

"It's because he was drunk right?"she had never felt more guilty. This was definitely her fault.

"Yeah, that and the doctors found drugs in his system. We don't know how they got there though."

"Drugs? Lucas would never take drugs. We all know that."

"Yes we do, but they still got there somehow."

Peyton stood there and thought about what she just said.

_**Flashback**_

_Peyton sat on Debbie's bed. She was one of the few friends she had left on the squad, who happened to not be able to stand Brooke. She was talking to Debbie about how much she liked Lucas and how he seemed to want only Brooke. She found herself telling Debbie that she needed to come up with a plan to keep them apart, when her mom called her downstairs. A minute later Debbie's older brother walked in holding a bottle of Vodka._

_"Hey there beautiful."_

_Peyton turned away in disgust."Debbie's downstairs with your mom."_

_"I know, I heard. I also heard what you said."Peyton's eyes narrowed, not knowing what he was talking about."You know, about wanting to take that guy away from your friend. I have a way for you to do that."_

_"Why would you want to help me? I don't even know you."_

_He smiled at her."Lets just say I was in a situation like this before."she continued to look at him skeptically. He sighed."Look do you want my help or not?"_

_Peyton turned from her position on the bed to face him."Sure okay, I'll bite. What's your plan?"_

_He held out his hand. "Give him this and make sure he drinks it."_

_"What's so special about Vodka? I could just give him what's at the party."_

_"Yes, but this is my special blend. Trust me give him this, you won't be sorry. You'll get him to do whatever it is you have in mind."_

_"Why? What's in this stuff?"_

_"Nothing really, just a mixture of alcohols. Do you want it or not?"he was becoming impatient._

_She took it out of his hand."Yeah, I'll take it."_

_"Look don't tell anybody where you got that, especially my sister."_

_"No problem."_

_He leaned down and kissed her hard. She was a little surprised, but didn't pull away."Lets just say that was my payment. I hope to see you around again."he winked at her and then walked out of the room._

_**End Of Flashback**_

This really was her fault. She was so caught up in wanting to get Lucas, that she didn't even really question what was in that bottle.

Now she knew. It was some type of drug. Lucas was lying in a hospital in a coma and it was all her fault. She looked from Haley to Nathan."Thanks for telling me about Lucas. I have to go. Bye."she practically ran away from them.

* * *

At lunch Haley borrowed Nathan's car, that Brooke conveniently left him when he was at the hospital. She was driving by the cafe on her way to Brooke's when she saw her car parked right in front. She quickly parked the car and made her way inside. Brooke was sitting at the counter with an untouched plate of food in front of her."Hey. It's about time you came out of your house. How have you been Brooke?" 

Brooke turned to see Haley standing directly in front of her. She was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. It wasn't that she was mad or upset with her, it was just that she knew Haley was disappointed in her for not going to see Lucas and she didn't want to hear about that right now. She left her house only to come to this cafe because she didn't think she'd see anybody here, but obviously she was wrong."Hey, Haley. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Shouldn't you?"

"Well you got me there."she said with a slight smile.

"What's going on Brooke? I know you got my messages and I know you were there all those times I went to your house."

"Nothings going on. I just didn't feel good. I think I might be coming down with something."she fake coughed.

"Oh come on Brooke. Do not fake cough me. I know that's a lie."

"Fine. I'm not sick. I just didn't want to talk to anyone."

"Is it because of what Lucas did or because of him being hurt?"

"Both I guess. How is he?"

"He's pretty much the same. He's still in a coma. You'd know that if you went to see him though."she wasn't trying to be hard on her, she just didn't understand her actions.

Brooke let out a sigh. This was why she didn't leave her house all weekend."Please Haley, I don't need a lecture from you for not going to see him. I just can't do it, okay? It's too hard."

"It's hard for all of us Brooke, but we still went. We still talked to him and let him know we were there."

"I want to Haley, I do. I want to see him so bad, but I can't. I'm too afraid."she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"What are you afraid of?"asked Haley sincerely.

This was new to Brooke, sharing her feelings. There was something about Haley though, she made it easy to talk to her."I'm afraid that when I see him I'm going to break down and that's the last thing everybody needs. I'm afraid I'm going to lose him all over again, but this time for good. He can't die Haley, he just can't."a few tears rolled down her cheek and she didn't bother to wipe them away. This was also new to her, crying in front of someone and not feeling foolish because of it. Behind closed doors in her own home was the only place she was truly herself, but she didn't feel like Haley was judging her and that felt good. It felt good to have her as a friend. It felt good to be able to open up to somebody other than Peyton, who was no longer available. She had Nathan, but that was different.

Haley got up and pulled her into a hug. She knew this was what Brooke needed and it was actually what she needed too."It's okay Brooke. Lucas is going to be okay. He's not going to die. We're just waiting for him to wake up and then everything will be perfect."

Brooke pulled away."I know. I'm sorry for falling apart."she gave her a weak smile."This is exactly what I didn't want to happen."

"Don't apologize Brooke, we all fell apart at one time or another. We all had the same thoughts you have. I think you just need to see Lucas yourself, to see that he is going to be okay. Go see him Brooke. You need it and so does he."

"I can't. I wish I could, but I can't. I'm not ready. I should go. Please tell him I'm thinking about him and that I love him."she quickly got up and left the cafe.

* * *

Haley decided against going back to school. It was a little weird of her to do, but she needed to go to the hospital. There was a message she needed to give to Lucas that would hopefully make him want to wake up. 

Once she got the the hospital, which had become like a second home to her in the past few days, she walked up to his opened hospital room and was about to go in, but stopped when she heard Karen singing.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you."Karen's singing stopped when all her emotions got the best of her and she started to cry. She sat down in the chair next to his bed, with his hand tightly placed in hers and she rested her head on the bed and continued to cry.

Haley decided that now wasn't the best time to see Lucas. She thought that Karen needed this alone time with him and she was about to leave when she heard the rest of the song.

"Please don't take, my sunshine away."sang Lucas barely audible.

Karen's head shot up and Haley ran into the room.

"Oh my god, Lucas your awake. Thank you Lord, my boy is finally awake."she got up from her chair and went to give him a hug and a kiss as she continued to cry, this time happy tears.

"Mom could you please get me some water?"whispered Lucas.

Karen reluctantly let go of his hand and went to the sink to get him some water.

Lucas looked around the room and stopped when he saw Haley standing by the door.

She didn't know what to do. Should she leave? The last time she saw him awake, her boyfriend kicked him out and she did nothing to stop it and that might be the reason he was here in the first place. She was overjoyed when he smiled at her and waved her in. She stood by the bed and waited for Karen to finish helping him with the water, then she walked over to him leaned down and gave him a hug."I'm so sorry that this happened to you Lucas. I hope you believe that."

Lucas hugged her back with his good arm."Shh, Hales, this isn't your fault. It's mine."

"I love you Lucas."

"I love you too Hales."

Karen stood back and watched the two best friends in tears. She had never been happier, Lucas was now awake and he looked good. She stepped out of the room to get a doctor, but couldn't help but look back and saw the two still in an embrace.

* * *

**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. I hope you liked this chapter. Lucas is awake! Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks. 

**Coming Up:**

Haley tells Lucas everything.

Karen over hears the two.

Karen goes to visit someone.


	23. Motherly Love

**Chapter Twenty Three**

_**Motherly Love**_

After the doctor questioned Lucas and checked him over, saying everything looked great, Karen slipped out of the room to call Keith. He had been beside himself with worry and she wanted to make him feel better. He would be ecstatic that Lucas was now awake and everything was okay. From now on things would be different for all of them.

* * *

Haley sat next to Lucas' bed. He may have only woken up a few hours ago, but he looked great. It seemed like he had a lot of energy and she just assumed it was because he spent the last two and a half days sleeping. She turned to face Lucas, who now looked upset."Hey, are you okay?" 

"No, I'm not. How dare that damn doctor try to make my mother think I have some drug problem. I have never taken drugs in my life. After everything happened with Nathan, why would I even touch that stuff? I mean, come on Xanax. Do I looked depressed?"

Haley pretended to look him over."Well now that you mention it, kinda."she said trying to lighten his mood. It didn't work. It only drew an evil look from him."Sorry. I guess it's still too early to try and joke about this."

"I swear I didn't touch that stuff."

"We all know that Luke, but it somehow made it into your system. I know you told the doctor you couldn't remember anything about that night, but are you completely sure you can't remember anything?"

Lucas closed his eyes and shook his head." I remember we won the game. I remember taking Kelly to Nathan's. I remember..."he stopped for a second."Talking to Brooke and I think we were holding hands. That's pretty much it."he said with a sigh.

"You don't remember talking to Peyton at all?"

He again closed his eyes and tried to picture everything from that night."She came out to the beach where I was sitting. I remember her giving me a bottle of Vodka, but that's it."he looked over at Haley, who seemed deep in thought."What? Don't tell me you think Peyton put that shit in there. There's no way."

"No, I don't think that. She may be a witch, but drugging someones drink after what happened to her, I don't think she'd do that. Do you remember drinking anything else at all?"

"No, from what I remember that's all I drank."

"Maybe someone put it in that bottle of Vodka to give to someone else, but Peyton accidentally picked it up first."Lucas looked at her skeptically."Hey it's a possibility."

"I don't know, I guess. So are you ever going to tell me what else happened that night? I can tell you want to say something, but your holding back. What happened? What did I do while I was on that stuff?"

"Trust me Lucas, you don't want to know."

"Just tell me Haley. It sounds bad."

"It is."

"Haley."

"Okay, fine, but don't say I didn't warn you. I think you might have slept with Peyton."

"What? No. There is no way I would have done that, drugged or not."

"I don't know, but Nathan and I were downstairs with Brooke when she decided to go and talk to you. She left us and the next thing I knew I walked into the living room and saw Nathan holding Brooke by the arm and she was trying to break free. He gives her his car keys and she leaves in tears. Then Tim comes down and tells us he saw her coming out of a room. We go to that room and that's where we find you, half dressed on the bed and with Peyton."

"Was she dressed?"he needed to know her answer.

"Yes, she was, but we were downstairs with Brooke and Tim for a while, it was plenty of time for her to get dressed. Brooke had to have seen something going on with the two of you to get her that upset."

"So Brooke knows all about this?"Haley nodded."Okay, well if Peyton was dressed and we don't know exactly what Brooke walked in on, then there's still a possibility that nothing happened right?"

"Yeah, I guess because we didn't actually see anything, but then again, like you said, we don't know what Brooke saw. She might know the answer to this question."

"I didn't sleep with her. I know it. There is no way I would have done that to Brooke. I don't care what everybody thinks, I do lover her and I wouldn't hurt her like that, not again."

"I know you love her."

"What was she going to talk to me about?"he remembered being curious about that that night and looking for her to find out.

"It doesn't matter right now."

"Please Haley, if you know, I'd also like to know."

"She should be the one to tell you, not me."

"Well after what I might have done, I doubt she will, so please, you tell me."

"Okay, well she was going to tell you that she forgave you for everything and that she wanted you two to be friends, real friends."

Lucas slunk back into bed and closed his eyes. He felt like he was about to burst. "She was going to give me another chance and I ruined it by sleeping with Peyton. She must really hate me now."

"She doesn't hate you Lucas and you were drugged and didn't know what you were doing. She's gonna have to realize that."

"She doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to. All I keep doing is hurting her. If she doesn't hate me, then maybe she should."

"Don't say that. We don't know for sure what went on with you and Peyton."

* * *

Karen walked up to the door and stopped when she heard the two talking. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop on her son and that she should walk away and let them finish their conversation, but she didn't. They sounded like they were having a serious conversation and maybe this was her only way to find out what if anything was really going on with Lucas. She continued to stand there hoping to hear something useful.

* * *

"So I guess Brooke didn't come to see me in here at all, huh?" 

"No, but it's not because she didn't want to, it's just really hard for her right now, but she did want for me to tell you that she's thinking about you. She loves you Lucas."

"I just wish she'd come and see me. I really need her right now."

* * *

Karen had heard enough, she turned and walked away. Lucas sounded so sad. She wanted to do something to make him feel better. She pulled out her phone and dialed."Hey, Deb, it's Karen. Yeah, he's doing much better now that he's awake, listen I just called because I was wondering if you knew where the Davis' live. I need to speak with their daughter.

* * *

"What am I going to do Hales? I lost Brooke, I probably slept with her best friend, I might never be able to play basketball again, and everybody probably thinks I'm a pill head." 

"Oh come on Lucas, nobody thinks that. You just being silly."

"Yeah, maybe about the last part, but all the rest is true."

"Look we don't know if you slept with Peyton and we don't know where you stand with the whole basketball thing and we don't know what Brooke is feeling right now. Just give this time and I'm sure everything will work itself out."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then your going to have to work harder to get your life back together and I'm going to be right there by your side."

"Thanks Hales."

"No problem."she said with a smile."That's what best friends are for."

* * *

Karen stood outside the Davis home. She quickly left the hospital once she got the directions from Deb. She knew it was the middle of a school day and didn't know if Brooke would even be home. If she wasn't she hoped someone was so that she could leave her a message. Karen walked up the path to the door and rung the door bell. When nobody came, she rang it again. Still nobody came and she turned to walk back to her car a little disappointed when the door opened. A young, beautiful girl stood at the door. Her eyes were a little red and puffy and Karen assumed it was from crying and that meant she was probably most likely Brooke. 

"Hi, can I help you?"

She had manners and she liked that."Yes, you can. Are you Brooke by any chance?"

She nodded."Yes I am. Do I know you?"Brooke looked at her and knew she looked familiar, but couldn't quiet place her.

"Well, not really. I'm Karen, Lucas' mom."

That was it. She had seen pictures of her when she had been at Lucas', although she looked a little different now."Oh, right. Hi. I knew you looked familiar. I've seen pictures of you all over your house. How are you? Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't ask. Of course your not doing good, with Lucas in the hospital, and all. I'm sorry I'm being rude. I should ask you to come in. Would you like to come in?"she quickly shut up. This was just like her, rambling on like a crazy person when she got nervous and nervous she was. She was meeting her ex boyfriends mother for the first time while he was in a coma and to top it all off, she probably had no idea they no longer were together.

Karen couldn't help but smile at the young girl. She was clearly nervous."Yes, I'd love to come in. There's something I'd like to discuss with your for a moment."

Brooke pulled open the door and Karen entered."So would you like something to drink? Water, tea, coffee, whiskey?"she let out a little nervous laughter.

Karen couldn't help but laugh as well. She hoped it would put this young girl at ease."No thank you Brooke. I'm fine."

"Okay, well what was it you wanted to discuss."asked Brooke as she took a seat next to Karen on the couch.

"Well I was hoping to catch you at the hospital, but you never came by. I was a little worried about you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine and about not going to see Lucas, I'm sorry. I just couldn't bring myself to go."

"I really wish you would have. Lucas needs all his friends right now, especially you, Brooke. I know how much he loves you."

"I know. I'm sure you don't know this, but Lucas and I kinda broke up a while back. I don't think my presence is what he needs right now."she placed her hands together and set them on her lap.

"Oh I beg to differ. I think your presence is exactly what he needs right now. I over heard him and Haley talking today and he really wants to see you."

Brooke looked at her confused."Wait, did you say you over heard them talking today?"she hoped she'd heard correctly.

Karen smiled at her. She now had her full attention. She placed her hand over Brooke's."Yes, that's what I said. Lucas woke up today sweetie."

Brooke' eyes widened. This was what she prayed to god to happen and it did. Lucas was awake. A lone tear fell down her cheek.

Karen lifted her hand and wiped away that tear."I know sweetie, this is wonderful news. No more tears okay? Dry those beautiful eyes. We should be nothing, but happy from now on."

Brooke nodded and blinked back a few tears that threatened to escape."Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's fine. He just really wants to see you. I do have to admit I was a little hurt to hear that you were the one he wanted to see and not his own mother, but I got over it."

Brooke smiled at her."I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine sweet heart."

"I just don't know if I can go. The last time we saw each other it ended badly, with me saying some hurtful things and walking off."

"Okay, I understand that, but right now that's besides the point. I don't know what went wrong between the two of you in the short time between our last conversation and now, but I do know that my son loves you. He never kept that a secret from me and being here with you and seeing your reaction to him being awake, I can tell you love him too."Karen got up off the couch and pulled Brooke up with her."I should really get back to Lucas. He doesn't even know I left to come here."she leaned in and gave Brooke a hug."Please think about going to see him. He really needs you right now and I think you need him too."

Brooke nodded and walked Karen to the door."Thanks for coming by. You gave me a lot to think about."

"Your welcome. I really hope to see you later Brooke."

"You just might. Bye Karen."

"Good bye Brooke."

* * *

**A/N:**Thank you guys for all the reviews. I love each and everyone of them. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had to put in a little Brooke and Karen. I love Karen and how she is with Brooke. She's someone Brooke needs in her life and I hope the show continues to make their relationship grow. I know this chapter is a little short, but I wanted to post something now. I'm having some trouble writing the next chapter. I want it to be perfect and it's just not coming to me at the moment. I promise to post it as soon as it's right. Anyways let me know what you think. Please read and review. 

**Coming Up:**

What most if not all of you have all been waiting for and that's all I'm saying.lol


	24. I do Believe You

**Chapter Twenty Four**

_**I Do Believe You**_

Haley decided she'd kept Lucas awake too long and that he needed to rest. She told him she would be back later with Nathan and left his room. It was getting late and she needed to get Nathan's car back to him. She was dying to tell someone Lucas was awake. She stood by the elevator and was about to push the down button when it opened and to her surprise she saw Brooke walk out.

"Oh, hey Haley. I didn't think I'd see you here right now."

"Yeah, I could say the same to you. What are you doing here?"

"Coming to see Lucas. What else would I be doing at the hospital?"asked Brooke with a smile.

"Nothing I guess. It's just that earlier when we talked you were pretty adamant about not coming and now your here and your smiling."

"Well I changed my mind. I do that sometimes."

"What made you change your mind? I practically begged you to come see him and that didn't work."

"I'm sorry. I should have listened to you. I was being selfish by not wanting to come. I was worried about how I would feel when I saw him and not about him needing his friends."

"Again I ask, what changed your mind?"

"His mom."

"What?"

"Karen came by to see me earlier. We had a good talk and she helped me realize a few things."

"What did she say?"

"Just that no matter what happened with me and Lucas, he needed all his friends right now. That I need to push all the anger and bitterness aside and help him. She also said she can tell he loves me and that I love him."

"So she basically told you everything I already had?"

Brooke laughed."Yeah, I guess. Maybe hearing it from somebody who isn't around us all the time is what I needed."

"I don't care who was the one to change your mind, I'm just glad you came. Lucas is going to be so happy when he sees you. You do know that he woke up today, right?"

"Yeah, his mom told me. I couldn't be more happy about that."

"You and me both."

"Well I'm going to go see him now. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Wait. Brooke, before you go see him, you should know a couple of things."

"What do I need to know? He is okay right? Karen didn't say anything about things I need to know."she started to panic.

"Whoa, Brooke calm down. Lucas is fine."

"Then what are you talking about?"

"Well Lucas _is_ fine, meaning he's okay and we're not going to lose him, but in all other aspects he's far from okay."

"Come on Haley quit stalling and tell me what is going on so I can go see him. I've already waited too long."

"I just want to prepare you. Lucas is pretty banged up. He was hit on the passenger side of the car, thank god, but his head hit the windshield. He has a huge bump on his forehead. The left side of his face is cut and bruised and his left arm is broken."

"Okay, but all of that will heal."

"Yes, it will, but after his arm heals he may not be able to play basketball again."

"Ever?"asked Brooke a little shocked.

"Yeah and I can tell it's eating him up inside. You know how important basketball is to him."

"I do, wow he must be completely devastated over this."

"That among other things."

"What other things?"

"He hates himself for hurting you again."Brooke looked down."He thinks he lost you for good because of what happened on Friday, although he has no idea what exactly happened."

"He doesn't remember? Is it because of the accident or because he was drunk?"

"Neither."Brooke's eyes narrowed."It's because he was drugged."

"What? Drugged? Okay, you totally lost me Haley."

"Well somehow the drug Xanax got into his system. The doctor seems to think he took it to get high..."she was cut off.

"Well that's absurd. Lucas wouldn't touch drugs."

"I know that, but they were in his system, so he did take them. We think it might have been slipped into his drink."

"Who would do something like that to him?"

"I don't know if they were even meant for him, but you need to know that everything he did on Friday, it wasn't him. It was the drugs. You shouldn't hold what happened in that room against him. It wasn't him, but it was Peyton. She knew everything that was happening."

"Of course she did. She admitted that it was all a set up for me..."she stopped."You don't think _she_ put that stuff in Lucas' drink, do you? No, she couldn't have."she said as she shook her head. Peyton was a lot of things, but this wasn't one of them.

"No, I don't think she did it, but I do think she isn't above getting Lucas drunk and up to that room to make you think something happened. She did give him the alcohol in the first place."

"Does he remember what happened with her?"

"No, he doesn't. He has no clue as to what happened after the second time you tried to talk to him. He has no idea if he slept with Peyton or not, which brings me to you. What exactly did you see when you walked into that room? Maybe you can help us figure out what really happened."

Brooke sighed as she thought back to that night. She hated having to think about it."All I saw was Lucas and Peyton and she had her arms around him and his shirt was off."

"So you didn't see anything else?"

"No."

"Then there's a good chance nothing happened."said Haley."Lucas is going to be thrilled when he hears this. That was the last thing he wanted to have happened."

"Me too. I think that the only way we are going to find out what did or did not happen in that room is to ask Peyton, although I wouldn't put it past her to lie about it to keep me from wanting to talk to him."

"That's true."said Haley nodding.

"Well is there anything else I should know before I go see him?"

"No, I just hope you realize that everything that happened Friday night was basically out of his control. He was drugged and Peyton had a plan. So please don't hold Friday against him. You were going to forgive him before you found him so please remember that."

"I will. I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, I'll be back later with Nathan, hopefully you'll still be here."

"I might be. I'll see you later."

"Hey Brooke?"

"Yeah?"

"He's in room 208."

"Thanks."

Brooke made her way to Lucas' room and the closer she got the faster her heart began to beat and the slower her feet moved until she stood in front of his closed door. Her heart pounded so fast and so loud that she was surprised nobody else could hear it. There was no knowing what was waiting for her on the other side of that door. Haley made him seem so broken and she didn't know what to expect. She didn't know if she'd be able to help him, she didn't know if he'd even want her help, and she didn't know what she was supposed to do when she saw him. Not knowing all of those things made her want to turn around and run in the opposite direction, away from him and everything that had happened, but she didn't, she couldn't. After hearing everything from Haley, she knew Lucas needed her and even if she was afraid of everything unknown behind that door, there was no way she'd turn her back on Lucas, not again. She loved him and that's all that needed to be known.

Brooke slowly raised her hand and knocked on the door, not wanting to barge in if he was with his doctor. One last deep breath was taken when she heard him say to come in. She turned the knob and slowly walked into the room. She stood in the doorway and took in everything she saw. Even with Haley telling her how Lucas looked, it was still shocking. She had never seen him look like this. Nobody should ever have to see the person they loved like this.

Lucas lied in this bed with his eyes closed trying to get some rest. He had never been this tired before. He wasn't expecting anyone, so when he heard a knock on his door, he had no clue who it was. To say he was completely shocked when he saw her walk into his room would be an understatement. He honestly thought that he would go his whole hospital stay without her coming to see him, but he was wrong and glad to be. She now stood in front of him. He watched as she stood by the door looking like she wanted to turn around and leave, but then the expression on her face changed. She went from shocked and uncertain to scared and worried. It looked as if she didn't know what to do, should she stay by the door, or go completely in? He didn't see her making a decision anytime soon. She was too engrossed in looking at him to do anything else so he waved her in.

She stood there looking at his bruised and cut face wondering if he was really okay. She probably would have stayed right where she was, clutching the door knob in her hand all day if she hadn't seen him motion her in. She continued to look at him for a second before finally letting go of the door and rushing to him. Without thinking she threw her arms around him and held him as tight as she could. She never wanted to let him go in fear that she might lose him and this time for good. As she held onto him she couldn't stop the tears that fell. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of him. She didn't want him to feel like he needed to take care of her, when she should be the one doing the taking care of.

Brooke began to pull away, but stopped when felt his arm, that limply rested around her pull her into him tighter. It was as if he felt that if she left his embrace she'd disappear and he'd be left alone again and that was the last thing he wanted.

As he held her he felt like all his problems melted away. The one thing he wanted the most, he now had in his arms and to him she was the answer to everything. He wanted to stay like this with her forever, well minus her crying. When he felt her try to pull away, he had to stop her. He wrapped his arm around her more firmly and pulled her further into him, relishing in the feel of her warmth. Even as he held her tight he felt like she still wasn't close enough. He tried to bring her closer into him, but stopped as he let out a loud groan. He pressed her body into his broken arm and it caused a shooting pain to surge throughout him.

Brooke quickly pulled out of his grasp when she heard his painful groan. She looked into his piercing blue eyes, her own red and puffy."Oh my god, Lucas are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

Even though her eyes were red from crying, she had no make up on, and her face was covered in tears, she was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He raised his good arm and placed it on her cheek and used his thumb to try and wipe away her tears."Don't worry about me Brooke. I'm fine, hell I'm better than fine, your here and in my arms and that's all that I need."

Brooke closed her eyes and smiled as she leaned into his hand. Tears continued to fall."You scared the hell out of me Lucas."said Brooke as she stood up.

"I'm sorry. That was the last thing I wanted to do."

"Just don't do it again."she said with a smile as she wiped away her tears.

"Don't worry. I don't plan to."he patted the empty space on the bed next to him. She wasn't far, but he still wanted her closer.

She looked up at him for a second before taking a seat next to him.

He rested his hand on hers."Thank you for coming Brooke."

She shook her head."You don't have to thank me Lucas. I just wish I hadn't waited this long to see you. I'm sorry for that."

It was his turn to shake his head."Don't you dare apologize to me. You have no reason to. I'm the one who should be apologizing."he squeezed her hand."Brooke I am sorry for everything. I am sorry for all the times I hurt you. You may not believe me and I don't blame you, but I do love you."he raised his hand to stop her when he saw her about to speak."No please let me finish."she nodded."I look back to everything I put you through and I can't believe that you are here with me now. Which brings me to what an amazing person you are. I don't know anybody else with a heart like yours, well except Haley."he said with a laugh and she smiled back at him."Being without you has been hell for me and it made me realize you were the best thing I had and I hate that I messed it up. Doing what I did was the stupidest thing ever. All I can do now is tell you that I love you and that I am very sorry for everything I put you through. Hopefully one day you will give me the chance to show you just how much I truly love you. If given the chance I will never do anything to make you doubt me or us again. If given the chance it's going to be you and me forever. There's no way I'd let you go, your it for me Brooke. Please believe that."he looked up at her through watery eyes needing to see her reaction, hoping he would see a hint of belief.

She looked down at him going over everything he just said again in her head. It all sounded sincere and real. She had two options. She could continue to dwell on everything that happened and stay away from him, making both herself and him miserably, or she could do what they both desperately wanted and forgive him and give him a second chance. She did believe everything he said, every word of it. She no longer could or wanted to deny that he loved her and she loved him too. People make mistakes, she knew that, hell she'd made many herself and there were times she'd wanted a second chance, but was never given one. So yes, she had two options, but there was only one she was willing to do.

"Brooke?"

She was knocked out of her thoughts by Lucas who continued to look at her, but by now all the hope she'd seen in his eyes after his confession and apology was now gone."I'm sorry. I was just thinking about everything you said and everything I'm feeling. You need to know that I do believe you Lucas. I know you love me and I know your sorry for everything and I know you wouldn't do it again. In fact I don't think you'd do anything to hurt me again."

"I wouldn't. You mean everything to me Brooke."

"Well that's good to hear because you mean everything to me too Lucas. When you told me about you and Peyton, you have to know that it hurt. I had never felt pain like that before. Everything I had and hoped for was taken away from me in that moment. I couldn't believe that somebody who claimed to love me would do that."

"Brooke I did love you, even then."

"Okay, but it's my turn now, so let me finish please."said Brooke with a slight smile.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."she took a deep breath and continued."After knowing what you did I needed to believe that you never loved me and that you were nothing but a liar because I still loved you and I felt stupid for that. But that plan didn't work for me. I still love you to this day. You've done nothing, but try to prove to me that you love me and all I've done is act like a complete bitch to you, not that you didn't deserve some of it. You could have given up, but you didn't. Thank you for that Lucas. Thank you for letting me get all my bitchiness out. You being in this accident scared me. It made me realize that I could lose you forever. I love you way to much to let that happen. All this time without you has been hell for me too and I no longer want to live in this hell."she said with a smile."So if you still want me, you can have me."

Lucas sat up and pulled her into a hug. He couldn't believe this was happening, she was giving him a second chance. Her hair fell onto his face and he couldn't help but breathe in that intoxicating scent, her scent. The scent that he had missed and could never get enough of. She moved away slightly and a lock of her hair feel onto her tear stained face. He used his good hand to pull it behind her ear. He also wiped away the few tears that had newly formed in her eyes."I do want you Brooke, so much. Your the only one I want. Your the only one I'll ever want. Like I said, your _it_ for me."

"I feel the same way Lucas. I love you."she leaned in and captured his lips with hers.

This had to be the happiest moment of his life. He was with Brooke again and there was no secrets between them and they loved each other. He continued to kiss her tracing her bottom lip with his tongue, begging to be let in. She gave it to him and he slowly slid his tongue into her mouth and massaged it with her own. He moved his hand and placed it on the back of her neck, bringing her further into him. Her being there in his arms made him forget every bad thing that happened. He liked this feeling and there was no way he'd give her up again willingly.

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**A/N:**Thank you guys for all the reviews. I really appreciate every single one of them. Now I have to say that this chapter was a real hard one for me to write. I wrote it and then threw it away and wrote it again and threw it away. I did that a couple of times actually. I wanted this chapter to be perfect and believable. I don't know if it ended up perfect, but this was the best one out of every one I wrote. So please let me know what you thought about this chapter. I really hope you all enjoyed it. I know everybody has been wanting them to get back together and now they are. YAY! So again please let me know what you thought of this chapter, read and review. Thanks.

**Coming Up:**

Brooke and Lucas have a couple of serious talks.

Karen and Keith have some news for Lucas.

Jake visits Lucas.


	25. Clearing The Air

**Chapter Twenty Five**

_**Clearing The Air**_

After the embarrassment of being caught making out with Lucas by his nurse, Brooke opted for sitting in a chair near his bed. Sitting with him on the bed was not a good idea, being that close to him was not a good idea. He had just awaken from his coma and yet he still couldn't his hands off of her. She knew it would be best if she kept a little distance between them. She hated that she had to be the one to think rationally, but there was no way that Lucas would and they _were_ in a hospital and he _did_ just wake up.

"Do you really have to sit _that _far away?"whined Lucas.

"Oh come on Luke, I'm right here."she said giving the hand she still held a squeeze."Your acting like I'm in another room or something."

"Well you might as well be. We just got back together and I want you close to me."

She rolled her eyes."I am close."

"Not close enough."he said pulling her toward him.

"Lucas come on, stop. Your going to hurt yourself."she tried to pull herself back.

"No, _your_ going to make me hurt myself if _you_ don't get up here."

"Fine, you win, but we will not be doing what that horribly rude nurse walked in on us doing again. She was a real bitch and she kinda scared me."

Lucas laughed."I think she was just upset to find out that I had a girlfriend. She wanted me, I could tell."

Brooke also laughed."Oh really? So you seem to think that your Mr. Irresistible now, huh? That everybody wants you?"

"No, not everybody, just you and that, what did you call her, oh the horribly rude nurse."

"Your full of yourself, you know that? Besides I don't really want you, I just feel sorry for you."she said with a smile, but stopped when she saw his face get serious and cold. The room suddenly got quiet."Hey are you okay?"he stared straight ahead not bothering to look at her."Lucas!"

"I don't want you feeling sorry for me Brooke. I may be here in a hospital, but I don't want your pity."

"Hey, I'm sorry, it was just a joke. I didn't mean it. I don't pity you Lucas, I love you. I'm sorry if I upset you, that wasn't my intension."

Lucas laced his fingers through hers."No, I'm the one who should be saying I'm sorry. I know you were joking. Maybe I feel sorry for myself. I hate the fact that I'm in here. I want to be at home with you enjoying the fact that we're together again, but I can't because some asshole put a fucking drug in my drink."

"Lucas don't worry, we'll be able to do that and more once you get out of here. I promise."

"Yeah, I know, but it pisses the hell out of me that somebody did this. I know I shouldn't blame anybody but myself. I was the one who got behind the wheel and drove, but I didn't know what the hell I was doing."

"You have every right to be upset at the person who put that stuff in your drink Lucas. Everything you did that night wasn't your fault, like you said you didn't know what you were doing. This in no way is your fault."

"So you understand that I didn't know what I was doing?"

"Yes, Haley explained everything to me earlier."

"Yeah, Haley also filled me in on everything that happened. She told me about you leaving the party in tears."

Brooke turned away."I don't want to talk about that Lucas."

"I know and neither do I, but we have to."

"Why? What is it going to do other than make us both upset?"

"It's going to let us clear the air."he waited for her response, but it never came."Fine, I'll start. I know you found me and Peyton in a room together."

She ran her tongue along her top teeth."That I did."

"I have no idea how I got to that room with her. I don't even know what went on in that room."she continued to look at him without saying a word, so he continued."I don't know if we slept together Brooke, we could have."she pulled her hand from his."Please don't pull away from me. I need you right now. I'm sorry that I went with her and I'm sorry that I can't remember. If I would have been in my right mind I never would have even talked to her."

"I know that Lucas."she took a deep breath."I hate thinking about you two together. At first I just pictured you two kissing, but now after that night I picture you two actually being together and it makes me sick."she looked at him as she spoke and saw his eyes glaze over and he turned away from her."But I know that whatever happened, wasn't you doing it. So I'm okay with it. I don't like it, but I'm okay with it."

He turned back to her in surprise. That was the last thing he thought she would say."Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. Lucas I know there's no way you'd do it again and I know you love me and that's enough for me."

"Your right. I wouldn't touch her again and I do love you, more than I ever thought possible."

"Then that's all I need to know."said Brooke with a smile.

"I know you probably want me to drop this and I probably should, but I need to know what you saw when you walked in on us. I know talking about this is hard for you, but I don't remember a thing and I need your help."

"It's okay. I want to help you and I know I'd want to know too."

"Thank you."

"Okay, well I didn't see much, thank god. I just saw you and Peyton sitting on the bed. You didn't have a shirt on and you both had your arms around each other."

"That's it? You didn't see anything else?"

"No, that's it. Just seeing you together like that hurt, especially since I was going to tell you I wanted to try again."

"I'm sorry you had to see that Brooke, but then again I'm glad you did. You helped me realize that nothing probably happened."

"You think?"

"Yeah I do. I mean I'm not sure and I won't be until I ask her myself."

"Wait, your going to talk to her?"

"Yeah, I have to. I need to know what happened."

"What makes you think she'll tell you the truth? She doesn't want us together, so you not remembering is perfect for her."

"She wouldn't do that. She wouldn't lie and say we slept together if we didn't."

"Okay Lucas, you still give her way too much credit. That is exactly what she would do. She practically admitted to me that that's what she wanted me to think. She told me it was all her plan."

"Okay, maybe your right, but I still have to ask her."

"Fine, go for it. Now I no longer want to talk about her so lets change the subject."

"To what?"

"I don't know, anything."she shrugged.

"Well how about,I love you."

Brooke laughed. He was too cute."I love you too Broody."

"Do you love me enough to give me a kiss?"

"You know I do, but what if that horribly rude, scary nurse comes back? She seriously scared me."

"It's like I said she wants me, everybody wants me."he said with a smile.

"You wish Lucas."said Brooke leaning toward him to playfully hit him in the chest.

He took that opportunity to grab her and pull her into a kiss. She moved closer to him and placed her hand on his neck bringing him closer to her. All thoughts of the scary forgotten, until she heard the door open. She couldn't help, but gasp.

Lucas let out a laugh. He could tell Brooke was too scared to turn and see who it was, so he looked over her shoulder. Luckily for Brooke it was his mom."Hey mom. I was wondering where you were."

Hearing Lucas say it was Karen, Brooke straighted up and let go of the breath she was holding thanking god she didn't have to face the scary nurse, who earlier threatened to kick her out for taking advantage of a coma patient. Yeah, right like she have to take advantage of anybody. She turned to face Karen.

"I bet you were Lucas, seeing what I walked in on."said Karen looking at Brooke.

Lucas was about to introduce the two when Brooke spoke."Hey Karen. How are you?"

"I'm good sweetie, even better now that I see you here."

"Wait, you two already know each other?"cut in Lucas.

"Yes, I met her earlier. She was the one who told me you were awake. She also gave me some advice I gladly accepted."

"And what advice was that?"asked Lucas.

"That's none of your business."said Brooke playfully.

"Well my mom will tell me, right mom?"

"I think not. If Brooke doesn't want you to know, then I'm not saying a word."said Karen matter of factly.

Brooke stuck her tongue out at him and smiled.

"Well this is just great. You two are already teaming up against me. Where's Keith when I need him?"

"Did somebody say my name?"asked Keith as he stuck his head in the room.

"Yes, thank god your here. These two are already keeping secret and ganging up on me and they just met. I need some help here."said Lucas with a laugh.

"Well I don't know how I can help you with that. You know how women are about keeping things from us men."said Keith as he walked up to Brooke and gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head."It's good to see you again. We've missed you around the house."

"I missed you too uncle Keith."

Lucas lied back and watched as Brooke and his family got along. They seemed to genuinely like Brooke, but then again how could anybody not like her? She fit in perfectly with him and his family and he was glad she gave him this second chance he really didn't deserve.

Lucas looked over to his mom and Keith and saw them giving each other what they thought were secret looks."Hey, mom, Keith, what's going on with you two?"

Karen looked at Keith, who nodded."Okay, well we were going to wait to tell you, but Keith and I want to try and be together. How do you feel about that?"asked Karen looking at Lucas questioningly.

"What do you mean? Do you honestly think I'd have a problem with it? I've wanted this for you two for as long as I can remember."he said with a smile, which brought one to Karen's.

"Well I guess you two have Broody's blessing."

"Broody?"asked Karen.

"That's a nickname Brooke has for Lucas."said Keith shaking his head and laughing.

"Yes, because he's always so serious and he can sit and brood for hours and to him it's fun."she said rolling her eyes.

"I don't brood and even if I did, I wouldn't think it was fun."

"Whatever."she turned back to Karen." So when are you two getting married?"

Karen's eyes widened. She didn't expect to hear that."Whoa, Brooke, nobody said anything about getting married. We're just trying things out."

"Yeah, for now, but I'm pretty good at reading people and I see that even though you two aren't talking about it, it's what you both want."

"Your girlfriends crazy Luke. I'd keep her around if I were you."said Keith shaking his head.

"Oh I plan to."said Lucas as Brooke turned to him and rolled her eyes.

Brooke was about to say something when they all heard the door open.

Jake stuck his head in."Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"No, don't be silly, come on in."said Karen."It's Jake right?"

"Yes, ma'am, it is."

"Please call me Karen."

"Okay Karen."he turned to Lucas."Man nobody told me you were awake. This is quiet a surprise."

"Yes, Broody here missed me so much he just had to wake up to see me. Isn't that right Lucas?"said Brooke looking at him daring him to disagree with her.

"Yes Brooke, your exactly right. That's the reason I woke up toady. I couldn't wait any longer to see you."

"I love you too."she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss.

"Okay well we can tell that you all probably want some time without us adults here, so we'll leave. I'll be back later, okay Lucas."said Karen.

"Yes mom. I'll see you later. I love you, you too Keith. Take care of my mom."

"Yeah and you two don't do anything I wouldn't do."said Brooke.

"Which is what exactly?"laughed Jake.

"Shut up."Brooke waited until Karen and Keith left the room before speaking again."Thanks a lot Jake. I want Lucas' mom to like me."

"She does like you Brooke."said Lucas.

"I know, I just don't want her thinking I'm corrupting her little angel."

"Aren't you?"asked Jake.

Brooke shot him an evil look."What exactly are you doing here other than cracking jokes about me Jake?"asked Brooke playfully.

"Well I was actually here to see Lucas, you being her was just a bonus."

"It always is."

He turned to Lucas."Seriously though, how are you doing man? You gave us all quiet a scare."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm doing good though, having her here helps a lot."said Lucas raising his hand that still held Brooke's up.

"Well I aim to please."said Brooke kissing his hand.

"Hasn't that always been your motto Brooke?"

"You know, your quite funny today Jagelski."she said rolling her eyes.

"Aren't I always?"

"No."said Brooke flatly.

"So anyways."said Jake opening his backpack."The guys from the team and the guys from the Rivercourt all signed this."he pulled out a basketball."It's just a little reminder for you. We all need you out on the court with us and we can't wait until your back."Jake saw Lucas tense up and his face turned unreadable."Whoa, did I say something wrong?"

Brooke looked at Lucas. They hadn't talked about it yet, but she knew he was thinking about the fact that he might never play basketball again."No, you didn't say anything wrong Jake. Lucas just hates that he's here in this place and not out on the court with you guys. He has a broken arm so who knows how long it will be before he can play again."

"Dude, I'm sorry. I should have known better."

"Na, it's cool. Can we do his another time? I'm really tired."said Lucas.

"Yeah, sure. Should I take this, or do you want me to leave it?"said Jake holding up the ball.

Brooke got up off the bed."Here I'll take it. Lucas really appreciates all of this. I hope you know that. I know he's going to want to look at this later, so we'll keep it. Thanks."

"Okay, well I'm sorry man. I shouldn't have bummed you out."

"You didn't. I'm just tired right now. I'll talk to you later okay man?"

"Sure thing. See you Lucas, bye Brooke."

"Bye Jake."she turned to Lucas."Okay well I guess I should be going too. You need your rest."

"No, don't go, stay with me."he held out his hand for her.

"I thought you said you were tired."

"I am, but that doesn't mean I want you to leave."

"Well if your sure."she raised an eye brow questioningly.

"I am."

"Okay good. I really didn't want to leave."said Brooke as she placed her hand in his and took her place on the bed next to him."So do you want to talk about it?"

"What?"

"Come on Lucas, you know that I'm talking about basketball."

"What's there to talk about? I'm good at it, but I may never be able to play again."

"We don't know that yet Lucas."

"Yeah, well I want to know now."he said raising his voice.

"That's impossible Lucas and you know it."

"But that doesn't stop me from wanting it."

"I know, but look, whatever happens we'll get through it together."she gave his hand a light squeeze.

"I don't know what I did to make you give me a second chance, but I'm glad you did. I love you Brooke and I'm never going to stop saying it."

"Good because I never want to stop hearing it."she leaned in and gave him a kiss.

He let go of her hand and place his on the back of her head pulling her closer to him. He was about to deepen the kiss when the door opened. They both pulled apart and turned to see who it was.

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**A/N:**Thanks for all the reviews. I love them all. I hope you liked this chapter. I know it was all a bit depressing, but the story will get happier. I just want to show everybody what's going on in Lucas' head and how he's feeling. I really think that if he didn't have Brooke he would probably go into a depression, good thing she's back. The next chapter will be longer then all the others. I want to hurry and get Lucas out of the hospital so I put it all together. Anyways let me know what you think, please read and review. Thanks. 

**Coming Up:**

Find out who is at the door.

Peyton and Jake talk.

Nathan and Lucas also talk.


	26. Truths

**Chapter Twenty Six**

_**Truths**_

_He was about to deepen the kiss when the door opened. They both pulled apart and turned to see who it was._

Brooke couldn't help but glare at the person standing in the doorway."What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, but I think I already know the answer to that. You two are back together?"she asked.

"Yes we are, so if your here to put another one of your "plans" into action, you can just turn around and leave, in fact you can do that anyways. We don't want to hear it Peyton."

"That's good to know, but I don't have a plan to put into action today. I'm over that now."

"Oh, really, like I'd believe that."

She shrugged her shoulders."I really don't care what you believe Brooke. You seem to think that you and Lucas are perfect for each other so be together. I don't really care. I'm done chasing after someone who obviously doesn't want me."

They both looked at her in disbelief.

"If that is true, then why are you here?"challenged Brooke.

"I heard about what happened to Lucas today and I was worried. I didn't know he was awake. I just wanted to check on him and make sure he was okay."

"Well as you can see, he's fine. You can leave now."spit out Brooke, visibly upset by Peyton being there.

"Okay."said Peyton."I hope you make a full recovery and I hope you two are happy together."she said to Lucas.

"Sure you do."Brooke couldn't believe what was coming out of her mouth.

"Brooke why are you being like this? You won, so be happy."

Brooke scoffed."Only you would think of this as a game and Lucas as some prize to be won. Now I am happy and I'll be even happier when you leave."

She raised her hands in defeat."Okay I'm going."she turned to walk out.

"Peyton wait. Don't go."said Lucas speaking for the first time since Peyton entered the room.

Brooke turned from Peyton to look down at him. She couldn't believe he was calling her back."Lucas what the hell are you doing? Let her leave."

Peyton couldn't stop the smile that suddenly appeared. She knew she shouldn't be happy about this. She had already decided to stop going after Lucas and to let him be with Brooke to make up for her part in doing this to him, but when he called her back it made her happy. She stopped smiling when she saw the look on Brooke's face. It looked like hurt, but it was quickly changed to anger."What is it Luke?"

He turned to Brooke and saw that she was still glaring at him. She looked like she wanted to kill him. He turned back to Peyton."I just want to ask you one question."

Brooke nodded, now understanding what he was doing.

"Sure go ahead. Ask me anything you want."

"Well I don't know if you know this, but I don't really remember what happened Friday night because of the drugs and I just need to know what happened in that room with us. Did we sleep together?"

Peyton looked at him with her eyes narrowed."You don't remember anything?"

"If he did, then he wouldn't be asking you, now would he?"asked Brooke losing her patients. She really needed to know this too.

"No I don't really remember anything and that's why I need your help."said Lucas hoping to stop whatever was starting with Broke and Peyton. He didn't need Brooke pissing off Peyton and making her not want to tell him.

This was better than anything she could have planned herself. Here Lucas was asking her if they slept together and Brooke was here to hear it all. All she had to do was say yes and Brooke would leave and probably for good. She smiled and shook her head."Don't worry Lucas we didn't sleep together, in fact nothing happened at all."

Brooke let out the breath she was holding, this was exactly what she hoped to hear.

"Then why was my shirt off?"

"You were hot. I guess it was because of the drugs."

"Okay well why were we holding each other when Brooke walked in?"

"I hugged you and you just hugged me back. That's it. In fact."she looked at Brooke."All you kept saying was how beautiful Brooke was and how you needed to talk to her."

"So seriously nothing happened?"he had to ask again just to make sure.

"Nothing happened, now I'm sure that's all you wanted, so I'll go ahead and leave."Lucas nodded at her and she left the room.

"Wow. Who would have thought she'd actually tell us the truth? She really surprised me. Maybe she really is done trying to mess with us."

"Yeah, maybe. I'm just glad nothing happened. Now I don't have to hate myself so much for thinking I hurt you in a way I couldn't take back."

"I told you I was okay with it."

"That doesn't matter. I still felt horrible thinking I did something unforgivable."

"Well now you know that you didn't so everything is okay."

He couldn't help but see the sadness in her eyes. She was good at hiding it, but not good enough."Yeah, I guess it is."she looked down and took a deep breath and let it out."It's okay if you want to forgive her you know."

She looked at him."What?"

"Peyton. It's okay if you want to forgive her. I can tell you miss her. Everybody makes mistakes and hey you gave me a second chance."

"Yeah, well you didn't deliberately go out of your way to hurt me like she did. Yeah, I miss her, but I can't just forgive her because she said she isn't going to go after you anymore. She's not the same person she used to be and I don't like what she's becoming."she shook her head.

"Then help her be the person we both know she is. You want it and she needs it."

"I can't do that. She needs to change herself."

"Yeah, but sometimes we need a little help. You can be that for her."

"Lucas I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Okay, I'm just saying that it wouldn't be such a bad thing to forgive her, if that's what you want. Nobody's going to think bad of you if that's what your worried about."

"I don't care what people think."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'll drop this."

"That's a good idea."

* * *

After leaving the hospital Peyton needed to think. She passed by the Rivercourt and was happy when she saw nobody there. She made her way to the table and sat down. How did her life get so messed up? When did she lose her best friend in the whole world? When did she become such a hateful person? In the past few weeks her life changed drastically. She didn't even recognize herself anymore. Every decision she'd made concerning Lucas had caused her to lose somebody she cared about. She no longer had any friends, none that _really _cared about her, none that _were_ Brooke. She'd lost Brooke probably for good and for good reason. Everything she did to her was unforgivable and it was all because she thought she wanted Lucas. To her Lucas was like a drug. You know it's not good for you, but you want it anyways, you think you need it, and you think you can't live without it, when in actuality not having it is the best thing for you. Speaking of drugs, her stupid obsession almost got Lucas killed. Sure she didn't put that drug in his drink, but she still knew it was her fault. Everything was her fault and she didn't know how much more she could take. Her whole world was caving in on her and because of everything she had done the one person she needed to talk to hated her. She placed her head in her hands and let her tears fall.

"Peyton?"

Peyton's head shot up. She wasn't expecting anybody to be here.

"Hey are you okay?"

She shook her head."No, and I don't know what to do."she continued to cry.

He ran up to her and pulled her into his chest, holding her tight."It's going to be okay Peyton."

"No, it's not Jake. I am a horrible person. I don't even know why your here with me now."she said as she tried to pull away from him. He held onto her tight not letting her go.

"Look Peyton I'm not going to stand here and lie to you. You have done a lot of bad things to people your supposed to care about, but you haven't done anything to me personally, so I'm here for you if you need me. If all you need is a shoulder to cry on then I'm here. I know you probably want me to leave right now, but I'm not. That's not what you need. I don't think you should be alone right now."

"Jake your a great guy. The best thing for you is to stay away from me before I bring you down along with me."

"I'm not afraid of that Peyton."

"Well maybe you should be. I'm a horrible person."

"Like I said I'm not going to lie to you, you have done some really bad things, but your not a horrible person and you definitely shouldn't be all alone."said Jake placing a hand on hers.

"You don't really know me or the things I've done Jake."

"I do know you Peyton and anything you say to me won't make me think your horrible."

Peyton wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to cry."You don't know how much I need this right now. I feel like I have no one and it's all my fault."

"I can't really disagree with you there, but I can say that you have me. So your not completely alone. I'm your friend and I'm here so talk to me, tell me what's wrong."

"I can't. It's too awful. I can't even say it out loud. I hate myself for it."

"Whatever _it_ is, it sounds like you really need to talk about it and I'm here for you."

She pulled away from him."Lucas is in the hospital because of me."she blurted out.

"What?"that was the last thing he thought she'd say."You put that drug in his drink?"

"No, but I gave him the drink."

He let out the breath he was holding."That doesn't mean it's your fault Peyton. You didn't know it was in there."

"Your right. Technically I didn't know it was in there, but I knew something was in there."

"How could you know that?"

"I brought the Vodka to the party especially for Lucas. A friend of a friend gave it to me. I asked him what was in it and he said it was just a mixture of different alcohols. I should have questioned him further, but I didn't. All I care about was getting Lucas drunk so that what I had planned would work and keep Brooke out of the picture. It sounds so stupid now, but that's what happened."

"Peyton I get why you think this is your fault and again I'm not going to lie, it partially is, but not fully. You didn't know it was laced with drugs and if you did you wouldn't have given it to him right?"he questioned.

She shook her head."No, I definitely wouldn't have."

"Okay and you didn't know Lucas was going to get in his truck and drive. So don't be too hard on yourself."

"Thank you for trying to make me feel better."she gave him a half smile.

"No problem. Look I'm not going to say anything about what you just told me, but I really think you should. You need to let Lucas and Brooke and everybody know exactly how he was drugged. They are all going out of their minds not having that answer. It would give them all piece of mind. You also need to let them know you know it was stupid and that you are sorry and won't ever do anything like it again. If they can't forgive you and want you to stay away from them, then do it. You won't be alone though, you'll still have me."

Peyton wiped away her tears."You are such an amazing guy. Why didn't I notice that before."

"Probably because you were so stuck on Lucas."he said with a smile.

"Probably, but wanting him was the root of all my problems."

"Don't worry. You'll fix everything, I'll help you."

"Thank you. I don't know it I can fix all the damage I've caused, but knowing your here helps a lot. Jenny is a lucky girl to have you in here life."

Jake smiled at her again."And I'm a lucky guy to have you as a friend."

Peyton laughed."Not very many people would agree with you on that."

"Well I didn't ask everyones opinion, now did I?"

"I guess not."

Jake looked at his watch."Damn. It's getting late. I should really get going. I left Jenny with my parents to go see Lucas and I should be getting back. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks for everything Jake."

"It was no problem. Remember what I said, tell them everything and don't worry. I'll be here for you when your done. I'll see ya."

"Bye."

* * *

Haley and Nathan walked into the hospital after Nathan finished with practice.

Haley was as happy as ever, while Nathan, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. He had been ecstatic when Haley told him Lucas woke up, but now he couldn't get the image of him throwing Lucas up against the wall and then threatening him out of his head. He felt like this was some how his fault. He literally threw a drunk and drugged Lucas out to drive home. He wouldn't blame Lucas if he hated him and never wanted to see him again.

They got off the elevator and made their way to Lucas' room. When they reached the door Nathan stopped, causing Haley to also stop."What's wrong Nathan?"

"I don't know. Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all."

"Please don't tell me your still mad at him for Friday night. It wasn't him Nathan."she said with a sigh.

"I know that and I'm not mad at him. I just think that he might be mad at me."

"Why? This isn't your fault Nathan. You know that. We have all gone through the stage where we think that this was all our fault, but it wasn't. The sicko that put that stuff in Lucas' drink is the only one to blame. Lucas won't blame you for the accident, so stop blaming yourself."

"Okay, your right. You always are, but he can still hate me for throwing him up against the wall and throwing him out."

"He doesn't even remember that and even if he did, he'd know you were just looking out for Brooke. Speaking of Brooke I wonder if she's still here. Are you ready to go in now?"

Nathan nodded and they opened the door and walked in. They both stopped in the doorway and were surprised at what they saw. Brooke was lying on the hospital bed with Lucas. Her head was on his chest and her arm was around his waist. They were both sleeping.

Haley couldn't help the smile that appeared. This was what she had wanted for the both of them for a long time."Well this answers my question. She's definitely still here."

Nathan looked at the two. He didn't know what to think. He was glad that Lucas was awake, but seeing his best friend in the arms of someone who had hurt her repeatedly was a little unsettling. He just didn't want her to get hurt again. His gaze landed on Brooke's face and he saw that even in her sleep she looked happy. He looked at Lucas and saw the same thing. They were both happy. It was a little strange, but maybe they should be together, obviously they made each other happy.

"So what are you thinking right now?"asked Haley knocking him out of his thoughts.

"What do you want me to say? I don't know if this is a good idea, but he seems to make her happy and I know he loves her, so all I can do is be happy for her. She's my best friend and she deserves to be happy."

"I think so too. I mean look at them. They look so cute sleeping together. We should leave. They need their rest."Haley grabbed Nathan's hand and started to pull him to the door when the phone started to ring.

Brooke shot up from her position on the bed, her hand pressing on Lucas' stomach. She heard him groan and quickly removed her hand."Oh my god, are you okay? Did I hurt you?"she looked mortified.

He smiled at her to reassure her."I'm fine, but will you please answer that damn phone? It's getting annoying. You'd think that if nobody picked up by the fifth ring, they'd hang up."he shook his head.

Brooke laughed at how annoyed he looked and got up from the bed, she realized that Haley and Nathan were there."Oh hey, I didn't see you guys there. What's up?"

Haley was about to answer, but was cut off."Don't answer her until she answers that damn phone, hell just unplug it."

Brooke rolled her eyes and went to answer it."Hello? Oh hi Karen. No everything is okay. We were just sleeping. No, he's awake now, do you want to talk to him?"Lucas held up his good hand ready to take the phone."No, okay. I wasn't planning on it. I thought you'd want to. No, I can. No, it's no problem, really. I'd love to. Okay, well we'll see you tomorrow. Okay, bye."she hung up.

"She didn't want to talk to me?"pouted Lucas, still holding out his hand.

Brooke took his outstretched hand in hers and held it."No, she was really busy and said you needed your rest. She won't be able to come back today. Deb is swamped at the cafe and needs her help. She asked if I could stay with you here tonight. I hope that's okay with you?"

Lucas smiled at her."What do you think?"she shrugged."I'm more than okay with that. I get to spend the night with my girlfriend with my mothers permission. What could be better than that?"

"I don't know, maybe spending the night with your girlfriend, when you could actually get some."she said with a sexy smirk.

"Eww, gross, we are still in the room."said Haley making a disgusted face."I don't know what Karen was thinking, thinking Lucas would get any rest with you around."

"Hey I resent that. Lucas and I were asleep a little while ago."

"And why were you two asleep? Did you two wear yourselves out making out?"

Brooke smiled at her."Well that's not the point. The point is that we did rest."

"What ever you say Brooke."she said rolling her eyes. She knew them too well.

"Well are you two coming in or are you just going to stand by the door? Come and sit on these very uncomfortable chairs."she pointed to the side of the bed, where the chairs sat.

Haley went to take a seat, while Nathan walked up to Brooke and wrapped her into a hug, pulling her up from the bed she was sitting on."Hey I missed you these last couple of days. You had me worried, but you look happy now and I'm happy for you, but don't disappear again."he whispered to her, letting her know he was okay with her and Lucas. He knew she'd be worried about that.

She hugged him back tight before pulling away."Thanks and I am and I won't."she understood what he meant."I missed you too."she sat back down and he went and sat next to Haley."So what brings you two by?"

"Well Nathan wanted to come see Lucas so I brought him. He wanted to see for himself that Lucas was awake."

"That's really cute Nate. You were worried about your brother."

Nathan felt himself blush."I wasn't worried about him. I just came because Haley said you'd be here Brooke and I wanted to see _you._"he answered knowing nobody would believe that.

"Yeah, sure Nathan, whatever you say. I don't know what it is about guys not wanting to express their feelings."she shook her head at both Lucas and Nathan."Now I need to talk to Brooke for a minute, so we're going to leave you two alone to talk. Don't kill each other. Come on Brooke."said Haley pulling her up from the bed.

"Okay, well I'll be right back. I love you Broody, you too Nate."

Both boys watched the girls walk out. Nathan turned back to Lucas."Not that I care or anything, but are you really okay?"

Lucas had to laugh. He was trying to act all tough. If things were reversed, he'd be acting the same way."I know you don't care and I hate to be the one to break it to you, but other then my broken arm and lack of a spleen, I'm fine."

"Well that's good, for Brooke I mean. I don't know why, but for some reason she thinks she loves you."

"I love her too."

"You better."

"I do."

"I know, but I do have to say, if you hurt her..."

Lucas cut him off."Yes, I know. You'll kick my ass. I get it and I wouldn't have it any other way. She's lucky to have you as a friend."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Look Luke, in all seriousness, I want to apologize for everything I did to you on Friday."he looked down.

Lucas' eyes narrowed."What did you do to me? I don't know if Haley told you, but I don't really remember anything from that night."

"She did tell me. I just wanted to apologize anyways."

"Okay and thanks, but what happened."

"Well I kinda got upset when I found you in a room with Peyton after Brooke left in tears."Lucas shook his head. He still hated hearing that he made Brooke cry."So I kinda threw you against the wall and tried to choke you and then I literally threw you out of my house onto the ground. I'm really sorry for all of that."

"Wow, all of that happened?"said Lucas with a laugh."Apology accepted, I mean your the lucky one really."

"Why do you say that?"asked Nathan a little confused.

"Well because your lucky I was drugged because if I wasn't and you tried to throw me into a wall, you'd be the one in a hospital bed, not me."laughed Lucas.

"You think?"challenged Nathan.

"No, I know."he said matter of factly.

"Whatever. So are we okay Luke?"

"Yeah, you were just looking out for Brooke. Your a great friend to her."

"And she's a great girl too, so don't you forget that."

"You don't have to worry about that. I won't."

* * *

Haley walked with Brooke to the vending machines."So you and Lucas, huh?"

Brooke couldn't stop the smile from crossing her face."Yeah, me and Lucas."

"So you two really got back together?"

"Yes we did."

"I know I'm being nosy, but how did it happen?"she was really happy for them.

"Well we talked about everything, then we cried, and then we kissed."

"I am so happy for you two. I know this is what you both wanted all along."

"It is. I am so happy right now Haley."squealed Brooke.

She smiled at Brooke."I can tell. You two looked so cute sleeping together earlier."

"It felt good too. I haven't been able to sleep since I found out about the accident, but being in his arms totally knocked me out."

"Well I don't want to put a damper on things, but did you two talk about Peyton?"

Brooke smiled."Yes we did and I told him that no matter what he did or didn't do with her, I was okay with it. I told him I knew that he loved me and that was all that mattered."

"Were you being honest with him when you said that?"she knew Brooke had to really mean that or else things would never work out for them.

"Yes I was. I'm not saying it didn't hurt to think of him with her, but then again it really wasn't him, but anyways Peyton ended up showing up here."

Haley couldn't believe her. That girl had some nerve."She actually came here? That bitch."

"No listen. She came and said she was over trying to get Lucas."

"Well I don't believe her."

"Haley just listen."

"Sorry. Go on."

"Okay, well I didn't believe her either, but when I got done telling her to leave, Lucas called her back."

"What? Why the hell did he do that?"

"That was my reaction too. I wanted to kill him when I heard him tell her not to go, but he just asked her what happen with them and she told us."

"I bet it was all lies."Haley shook her head."Don't believe her Brooke."

She smiled at her.She was such a good friend. She was lucky to have her."But I want to."

"What? What did she say?"

"She said nothing happened. Lucas had his shirt off because he was hot and she hugged him. She also said that all Lucas talked about was me."

"She actually said all of that? Wow. I thought that she would have lied."

"Me too, but she didn't. So maybe she really is done trying to keep me and Lucas apart."

"Maybe."

"So Lucas said it would be okay if I forgave her. What do you think?"

"God I don't know. Do you want to forgive her?"

"I don't know. I miss her. A part of me really wants things to be way they used to be, for us to be the way we used to be, but the other part of me can't forget everything she's done."

"I can't tell you what to do. If you want to forgive her, then do it. I'll be behind you 100 percent, just don't drop your guard where she's concerned."

"I know, your right. She's still capable of anything and here I am wanting to forgive her because she does one decent thing."she shook her head.

"That just goes to show that you are a great person with a big heart, who is willing to forgive someone you care about. Like I said do what you want, just be careful."

"I will."

"So I guess we should head back to the guys before they kill each other."said Haley with a laugh.

"Yeah, your probably right. Lucas and Nathan in a room alone together for too long is definitely asking for trouble."

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you all for the reviews. I love them all. I hope you liked this chapter. Like I said it was a lot longer than my others because I wanted to hurry and get Lucas out of the hospital and he will be next chapter. So anyways I need to ask all of you who read this to answer a question. Do you think that everything that Peyton has done to Brooke is completely unforgivable? I don't know if I should have Brooke forgive her or keep her by herself, well she'll have Jake. Please let me know what you think. It's really important. I don't have the next chapter written because I don't know what I want to do yet and I'm also writing another story that will be posted soon. It's a Nathan/Lucas/Dan story so it's going to take a while for me to post the next chapter, but the faster I find out what you want, the faster I will be able to write. Anyways enough of my rambling. Please read and review. Thanks. 


	27. Homecoming

**A/N: **_Hey everybody, I'm sorry that it has taken me this long to update my story. I had planned to have this chapter posted on Friday, but I went on a last minute trip to San Antonio, to celebrate the San Antonio Spurs winning the championship. They had a big parade. I also got to see my favorite desperate housewife, Eva Longoria (Gabriela Solis). She was with Tony Parker. Now I'm back and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks. _

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

_**Homecoming**_

It had been two weeks since Lucas' accident and Karen was bringing him home. Everyone wanted to be there when he got home, but Karen said no. It was a school day and she wanted everyone to go to school. Brooke begged Karen to let her be there, but Karen refused and told her to go to school. She had already missed a lot of school, not wanting to leave Lucas' side while he was in the hospital. Karen said it was more than alright if Brooke and the others came by after school. Brooke was upset, but agreed to come over after practice.

Lucas and Karen walked into their house."I am so glad to be home."said Lucas breathing in the homey smell."I hate hospitals. They always smell awful."

"I have to agree with you there. So lets make a deal, neither of us do anything to land in that place again."

Lucas held out his hand."Deal."they shook on it."I'm kinda tired so I'm gonna go to my room and rest before Brooke gets here."

"I think that would be a wise thing to do. That girl has a lot of energy. I feel like I have to too, just to keep up with her. I bet you feel that way too."laughed Karen.

"Na, she does have a lot of energy, but she doesn't push me."

"That's good. I don't know her all that well, but I can tell she's a great girl. She also seems to care about you a lot."

Lucas smiled."She does and I care about her too. I'm really glad everything worked out with us."he shook his head and thought about what it would be like for him if he still didn't have her. He knew it would be hell for him. He really needed her right now with everything that had happened.

Karen nodded."She did say something about you two breaking up when I went to see her. Care to talk about it?"asked Karen, hoping Lucas didn't think she was prying. She was just interested in his life.

"I'd rather not. Lets just say I did something stupid that I'm not proud of. I don't even want to think about it anymore. Besides you wouldn't be too happy with me if you knew."

"It sounds serious."

"It was. I'm just glad Brooke gave me a second chance. She didn't have to."

"No, she didn't. Lets just hope that was the last chance your gonna need with her."

"It is. You don't even have to worry about that."

"Okay, well if you want to talk about it, I'm here. Now go get some rest."she patted him on the behind and made her way to the kitchen.

Lucas walked to his room and threw himself onto his bed and let out a small groan when he landed roughly on his still tender side, the cuts still fresh from his operation. He was happy to be home and to have Brooke back. She was the one thing he wasn't sure he would ever get back. He just wished that the accident never happened so he could be at school with her right now and he wished that he knew what was going to become of him and basketball. That was the hardest thing for him right now. The not knowing was killing him inside and he didn't feel like he had anyone to talk to about it. Yeah Brooke had been great and tried to get him to talk, but he just didn't think she would understand. She always just told him he had to wait and see. That's the same thing the doctors kept telling him. Wait and see. He was beginning to hate that phrase. Wait and see. Didn't everybody know that the waiting was the thing killing him? He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to over take him.

* * *

Brooke was on her way to her locker when she felt someone approach her from behind. 

"Brooke?"

She was right someone was definitely there. She turned and was slightly surprised to see Peyton standing there."What do you want Peyton?"

She shrugged."Nothing I just saw you and thought I'd come over and say hi."

"Why?"asked Brooke looking at her as if she grew another head.

"I don't know, maybe because I missed you."

"Well you should have thought about that before you messed with my boyfriend and then repeatedly tried to hurt me."

"Look I'm sorry for all of that. I honestly am. I wasn't in my right mind when I did all of that stuff. I'm done with that and I want for us to get passed it."said Peyton meaning every word. She truly wanted Brooke to forgive her.

Brooke scoffed."Your unbelievable, you know that? You expect for me to just forgive you for everything you did because you say your sorry and are done with it. I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. Yes, you did one decent thing when you didn't lie about what happened with you and Luke, but that doesn't change the person that you've become and as long as your that person, we can't be friends. I don't know if we'll ever become friends again. I hate to say it, but you did this all to yourself."she turned to walk away.

"Brooke wait."Brooke turned to face her."I really need to talk to you."

"Yeah, well, I don't want to hear it."she walked away.

Peyton watched as her former best friend walked away and then felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay? I saw what happened."

She shook her head."No, she's gonna hate me forever."

"She doesn't hate you, she's just mad."

"Maybe you did really see what just happened."

"I saw. Look the things you did to her were pretty bad. Give her time to get over all that and don't stop trying with her."

"I won't. I just hope it doesn't take forever for her to forgive me."

"I'm sorry, but it just might, be prepared for that. So have you told anyone about what you told me that day at the Rivercourt?"She shook her head."Peyton you said you were."

"I know and I plan to. I was about to tell Brooke, but she didn't want to hear it."

"Well Lucas is the one you should be telling first anyways."

"I know, but I don't want Brooke to get even more mad at me."Jake was now confused and Peyton saw and tried to explain herself."If I go see Lucas and Brooke happens to stop by, which I'm sure she does a lot, seeing how she's his girlfriend, she might think I'm trying to break them up again."

"Then you explain everything to her."

"You know Brooke, Jake. She doesn't wait for explanations. If she sees something, she jumps to conclusions. She'd run out of the house and break up with Lucas before I even got a word out."

"It sounds to me like your just looking for an excuse to not tell him."

"Maybe I am. He's gonna hate me when he finds out."

"You don't know that."

"I just think that if I tell Brooke, she'll tell him and I won't have to."

"She shouldn't be the one to tell him, that should be you. You did this, now own up to it."

Peyton sighed."I know and I will, just give me time."

Jake looked at her and smiled."I'll give you anything you want. All you have to do is ask."he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and walked with her down the hall.

* * *

Brooke drug herself outside to the table she normally ate lunch at. Nathan and Haley were already there. She dropped her backpack on the table and lowered her arms and head onto it. 

"What's wrong with you B?"asked Nathan.

"Nothing."she simply stated.

"Well it doesn't look like nothing to me."

"I just miss Lucas, that's all."

Haley rolled her eyes."You have it bad Brooke. You just saw him last night."

"I know, but he's coming home today and thanks to Karen, I can't be with him."

"Yes, god forbid Karen actually wanting you to go to school and learn. How dare she?"said Haley with a smile.

"Yeah well today was a special day. I should be with him. I think Karen's just jealous. She wants Lucas all to herself for a while."

"Brooke, you do know you sound ridiculous, right?"

"I know, but I'm a little mad at her right now. She could have let me be with him today. I would have came to school tomorrow."

"Brooke she said you could go over right after school. She's not trying to keep you two apart."

"I know, but I have to go to practice first."she whined.

"So do we. You know Brooke."said Haley changing the subject."The other cheerleaders are starting to think you no longer care about the squad. They're a little worried."

"Well what did you tell them?"

"Nothing, that's your job, captain."

She rolled her eyes."Fine, I'll talk to them later. So guess what?"

"What?"asked both Haley and Nathan, both looking at each other and smiling.

"Peyton tried to talk to me today."

"What happened?"asked Haley now really interested.

"Nothing. She went up to me and said she was sorry and that she missed me."

"What did you say?"

"I told her that she should have thought about that before she turned into a crazy bitch."

"You said that?"

"Not exactly that, but I wanted to."

"Are you going to forgive her?"asked Nathan.

"I don't know, probably not. I know I said I wanted to, but a lot has happened and I don't know if I can get over all of it."

He nodded in understanding.

She waved her hand in the air."So enough about Peyton, are you two going to see Lucas today?"

"Yep, right after practice, right Nathan?"

He again nodded.

Brooke shook her head.

"What?"he asked.

"Nothing. It is just still a little weird thinking about you and Lucas together all the time."

"We're not together all the time Brooke. Haley wants to see him, so I said I would take her."

"Yeah, like that's the only reason your going."

"Hey, I don't have a problem admitting that I don't mind going to see him. He turned out to be an okay guy."

"That he did."said Brooke with a smile.

"I guess it's safe to say that you'll be there too."

"Yep, I'll probably speed the whole way there. I can't wait to see him."

* * *

Haley let herself and Nathan into Lucas' house. She knew she had seen him the other day, but she was excited about him being home. They found Karen drinking a cup of coffee at the kitchen table. 

"Hey Karen. Where's Lucas?"asked Haley.

"He's taking a shower. He'll be out in a few minutes. Come sit down. How was school?"

Haley and Nathan sat down."It was good, although we did have to hear Brooke go on and on about how mean you are for making her go to school."

Karen laughed."That girl is something else. So where is she? I thought she'd be here the minute school let out."

It was Haley's turn to laugh."Trust me she wanted to, but we had cheerleading practice. She couldn't miss another one. When we left she was still in the gym. She'll be here soon."

"I forgot your the newest member of the Raven's cheerleading squad. When Lucas told me I can't say I wasn't shocked. How do you like it so far?"

"It's okay. I've only cheered in two games, but it's fun."

"I know I always loved it."smiled Karen, remembering her cheerleading days.

Lucas walked into the kitchen."Hey guys. I didn't know you were here already."

"We just got here."said Haley going over and giving him a hug.

Lucas turned toward Nathan."Hey man, what's up?"

Nathan nodded at him."Nothing, practice was a bitch."he turned to Karen."Sorry."she waved it off."So what did you do today?"he asked.

"Slept, that's pretty much it. I still can't do much without getting tired."

"Poor baby. He gets to rest all day."said Haley sarcastically.

"Hey, I'd rather be at school with you guys and Brooke, then be here."he looked around."Where is she? Is she still coming?"

Haley looked at him."What do you think? Of course she's coming. She was upset the whole day because your mom made her go to school. There's no way she's stay away today."

"Good. I miss her, she better hurry."

"You'd think those two hadn't seen each other in days with the way they're acting."said Karen shaking her head.

They all sat at the table talking for a while. Lucas looked up at the clock."Where did you say Brooke was?"

"We left her at school. She said she was going to speed the whole way here. She definitely should be her by now."said Haley."You should call her Luke."

He got up and dialed her number."Her phones off."he waited for her voice mail."Hey Baby, it's me. I thought you were coming over today. Call me back."he hung up and was about to sit down when he heard a knock on the kitchen door. He opened it to see who he assumed was Brooke hiding behind about a dozen helium balloons. She also had what looked like a cake box and two bags in her hands.

"Is that you Broody?"

"Yes. What is all this Brooke?"he placed his hand on her arm and helped guided her into the kitchen.

"This my dear."said Brooke pausing as she put the cake, balloons, and bags down."Is me throwing you a little coming home party."She leaned in to kiss him, wanting to deepen the kiss, but didn't knowing everyone was around. She reluctantly pulled away."Do you love me?"she asked with a smile.

He pulled her to him with his good arm and kissed her again, not caring who was around. He needed to be close to her. She was the one to again pull away."You know I do, but you didn't have to do all of this."

She pulled out of his grasp."I know that, but I wanted to, plus it's kinda also for your mom. She did also just come home, you know."

Karen got up from her seat and walked up to Brooke."Why thank you Brooke. This is all very lovely."

"Your welcome. It's the least I can do."

Karen smiled at her."And here I thought you were upset with me."Brooke looked at her confused."Well Haley told me all about how you went on and on about how mean I am for making you go to school."

Brooke turned and glared at Haley."Yeah, well Haley tends to exaggerate and she also has a big mouth."

Lucas picked up a bag and looked in it."What is all this Brooke?"

She looked to see which bag he was holding."That in there is a special herbal tea that's supposed to be good for splenectomies. I didn't know how much to get, so I just bought it all."she said with raised shoulders.

Lucas rolled his eyes at her, only she would do something like that."There has to be over a hundred packets in here."

"Yeah, well then you better get to drinking."

"What's in the other bag?"he asked.

"Just some things that made me think of you, which reminds me."she turned to Nathan."There are a couple more bags in the car, along with some pizza and ice cream. Will you be the great guy I know you are and get them for me?"she stuck out her bottom lip.

"Sure. Come help me Haley."he pulled her up and they made their way out the door.

"So where's Keith?"asked Brooke.

"I don't know. That's a good question. I'm going to go give him a call. I'll be right back."

Once Karen left the room Lucas walked up to Brook, who was taking things out of the bags. He turned her around and kissed her, slowly, deeply, and longingly.

"What was that for?"asked Brooke once they broke the kiss.

"That was for being so amazing. Only you would go through all this trouble for me. I love you."

She placed her arms around his neck and lazily ran her fingers through his hair."This wasn't any trouble Lucas. I had fun getting all this stuff and I love you too."she got on her tip toes and leaned in to kiss his nose.

When she set herself down he pulled her close."I missed you so much today. I kept on getting these not so innocent images of us _together_."he leaned in and whispered this last part."I had to take a very cold shower."she laughed and he pulled her into another kiss. He traced her bottom lip with his tongue and then plunged it into her mouth when she parted her lips, massaging his tongue with her own. His hand made it's way to her waist and he absentmindedly stroked the bare skin above the sweats she wore.

Her arms tightened around his neck, wanting him even closer to her then he already was.

He backed her up until she was against the counter and his hand slowly moved up and under her shirt. He gently cupped her breast over her lacy bra.

Brooke had to force herself not to moan in pleasure. She quickly pushed him away, remembering where they were.

Lucas groaned in frustration and tried to pull her back to him.

"Lucas stop. We're in your kitchen with your mom in the other room."

"So."he pulled her back to him and she again pushed him away.

"I'm serious Broody. Besides I don't want you to start something you can't finish."she smirked.

He smiled."Who said I can't finish it?"

"I don't know? Why don't you go ask your mom?"

"Okay, point taken."

Brooke turned back to the counter and continued to take things out of the bags.

Lucas walked up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist and placed a quick kiss on her neck before going to see where his mom was.

Karen walked back into the kitchen with Lucas a minute later."Well Keith is on his way."said Karen."He was upset at the idea of almost missing this."

"Well it's a good thing you got a hold of him. I brought enough pizza to feed an army, although we might need to reheat it."

"I'm already on it."said Karen walking over to the stove and turning it on.

"Do you want me to brew you a cup of tea Broody?"

He smiled at her."Sure. Thanks babe."

Nathan and Haley walked into the kitchen laughing."Hey B, what the hell is this?"he held up a long, thin, metal rod, with what looked like a miniature claw at the end of one side.

"Oh that is for Lucas to use when he gets and itch in that cast. It goes all the way up to his shoulder, he's bond to get an itch from time to time."everybody laughed."What?"

"And what's this?"he asked again.

"That is a pillow for his arm. He might want to prop it up."she said with a shrug.

"Now was it really necessary to buy him new bed sheets B?"

She rolled her eyes at him. Now he was just making fun of her."They're silk and he's going to be spending a lot of time resting in bed. I just want him to be comfortable."

"And I will be. Thank you and I love it all. Your the best."

"I know, now here's your tea, drink up. You still have ninety nine more packs to go."she said with a laugh.

* * *

After Keith got there everybody ate the pizza and after that they ate cake and ice cream. Haley and Nathan left soon after that. Karen and Keith decided to watch some t.v., while Brooke went with Lucas into his room to change his bed sheets to the ones she bought. 

"Is there any chance you and I can get into this bed and test out those sheets?"asked Lucas wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Nope. There's no chance. Your definitely not up for that."

"Well I could just lie on my back and let you do all the work."

Brooke couldn't help, but laugh."In your dreams Broody."

"Don't I know it, but I thought that was why you were my girlfriend, to make my dreams come true."

"Well you thought wrong, now come and lie down. You must be exhausted."

"Now that you mention it, I am kinda tired. Do you want to lie down with me? We could do stuff."he went to lie down.

"Not gonna happen tonight, sorry. Now get your mind out of the gutter."she leaned over him to set the arm pillow under his broken arm. She was about to move away when he caught her arm and pulled her down for a kiss.

She kissed him back before pulling away. He groaned, wanting her lips on his once again."Sorry, but not tonight."she kissed him once more.

"Your such a tease."

"And your pretty horny for a guy who just got out of the hospital."

He shrugged."I just miss my incredibly sexy girlfriend, that's all."

Brooke smiled at him. She knew what he was doing."I miss you too, but we have to wait. Once your body is completely healed, you can do whatever you want with me."she smirked knowing that would get a reaction out of him.

His eyes widened."Are you serious?"

"Well within reason."she smiled at the expression on his face.

"Damn I can't wait."he shouted.

Brooke had to laugh. He was such a guy."It's getting pretty late, so I'm gonna leave. You get some rest."

"Yeah, like I'm gonna get any rest tonight after what you just said."

"Okay, well think happy thoughts and I'll see you tomorrow after school."

"I can't wait, just don't take long to get here."

"I won't."she leaned down and gave him one last kiss."I love you Broody."

"I love you too."

* * *

**A/N:**I hope you liked this chapter. It was really fun to write. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. I promise to have the next chapter up sooner than this one. Thanks. 


	28. Overwhelmed

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

_**Overwhelmed**_

After being home for a week, Lucas felt that he was ready to go back to school. He still wasn't one hundred percent healed, but he had to get out of that house and away from his mother. She was great and he loved her, but he could only take so much hovering. She was constantly in his face wanting to take care of him. Brooke really wasn't any better. He loved spending time with her, he really did, but she was just as bad as his mother. He wanted things to go back to the way they had been before he screwed up, but they didn't. She wouldn't even touch him. She said he was still healing and didn't want to hurt him. He tried telling her she wouldn't, but it fell on deaf ears. Every time she was around him she'd treat him like he was glass. She didn't want to do anything that might cause him to break. He had to admit it was getting pretty frustrating.

Lucas made his way to his locker and was surprised to see Peyton standing there waiting for him. He was about to turn around and forget going to his locker, when she turned and saw him. He saw what looked like a smile cross her face. He very slowly made his way to her, wanting to put off talking to her for as long as possible."Uh, hey Peyton. What are you doing here?"he wanted to make sure that she knew without a doubt that they no longer were on the best of terms.

"I know this is a little weird, me waiting for you, but I saw you around the past few days that you've been back and I thought it was time we talked."

There's nothing to talk about Peyton."

"Lucas you don't even know the half of what there is to talk about."

"Maybe not, but then again I really don't care to know."

"Lucas this is hard enough for me already, please don't make it worse."

"I don't know what your talking about Peyton. I'm not trying to make anything worse."

"Okay. I just wanted to come and tell you that I am sorry for everything I did to you and Brooke. It was all petty and childish and I deeply regret it. If I could, I would take it all back. I hope that you can find a way to believe me, even though Brooke doesn't."

"She has every right not to Peyton."

"Yeah, I know and that's why I haven't pushed her, but you, I really want you to believe me. It would mean the world to me if you did."

Lucas shook his head." I don't know what to tell you. I know that I am part of the reason Brooke and you have problems and I hate that, but then again you did a lot of hateful things on your own. I don't know if I can believe that your truly sorry for them."

"Fine, you have every reason to be skeptical, but there's something important you should know. It's really hard for me to say this, but..."she paused trying to find the right words to say what needed to be said.

"Come on Peyton, spit it out. What is so important that you need to tell Lucas?"asked Brooke coming up behind Lucas, having heard what Peyton just said.

"Oh, hey Brooke. I was just talking to Lucas."she said with a smile.

"Yeah, that I can see. So come on, don't leave me in suspense. What is so important?"she turned to look at Lucas."He doesn't mind that I hear, do you baby?"he shook his head."See. So what is it Peyton?"

Yes she was about to tell Lucas everything, but now she completely lost her nerve. There was no way she could tell them together. If she did, who knew how it would turn out. She knew she had to tell both of them, just not together."It's nothing really. I just wanted to see if Lucas was okay."she turned to Lucas."Are you okay? What you went through must have been tough, dislocating your shoulder and the broken arm, not to mention the emergency surgery. Wow. I'm surprised your even upright."

"Well he's fine, as you can see, so you can stop acting like you give a damn."Brooke was upset that Peyton was standing there acting as if everything was fine.

"I do care. Even after everything that I have done to you, you know that the one thing that always stayed the same was the fact that I did care about him."

"Are you done with your rant? Because if you are, can you leave?"

Peyton shook her head."Fine, I'll go. I just want both of you to know that I'm really sorry for everything."she gave them one last look and then turned and walked away.

Brooke turned to Lucas."God, can you believe her? She has some nerve trying to talk to you after everything she did."

Lucas looked at her."I really wish you wouldn't have done that."

Brooke's eyes widened."Why? Don't tell me you actually wanted to talk and forgive her."

"No, I didn't, but she said that she really needed to tell me something important."

"What could she possibly have to tell you Lucas?"

"I don't know. It could be anything."

"And it could be nothing at all."

"I just don't want to be blind sided by her later."

"You won't. There was nothing she needed to tell you. She just wanted to be around you, that's all."

"I hope your right."

"Aren't I always?"she said with a smile.

"Whatever you say Brooke."said Lucas pulling her to him and capturing her lips with his own. They stayed there by his locker kissing. God how he wanted more of her.

Before the kiss could turn into something more Brooke pulled away."Mmm, you are such an amazing kisser Broody. I could totally get lost in you."

"That's what I like to hear. Why don't we skip the rest of the day and go to your house? I _miss_ you Brooke."

"And I _miss_ you."she said wrapping her arms around his neck."I would love nothing more than to go back to my house and _be_ with you, but you know I can't."he looked at her not knowing what she was talking about."There is a game tonight and I can't cheer if I don't attend school for the full day."

He nodded."Right, the game."

"I know you don't really care about the game tonight, but I do and I have to be there."

"Then go, but don't expect me to go and _cheer_ you on."he said pulling out of her grasp, without looking at her.

"I wasn't expecting that Lucas."she knew it had to be hard on him, not being able to play tonight. She wasn't going to get upset with him for taking it out on her."Look, since we can't leave now, do you want to hook up after the game?"

"I don't know. Are you sure you won't be too busy to spend time with me?"

She let out a sigh."Lucas come on. Don't act like this."

"Act like what?"asked Lucas, knowing full well what she was talking about.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. I'm sorry you got into that accident and I'm sorry you broke your arm and can't play, but I'm still the captain and I have to be there."she saw that he still refused to look at her."You know what? Never mind. I gotta go."she turned and started to walk away, but Lucas grabbed her arm, stopping her."What Lucas? Your not done trying to make me feel bad?"

He took a deep breath and let it out."I'm sorry. I know I'm acting like a huge jerk. I hate the fact that I can't be there tonight playing, but that's no excuse to be taking it out on you. Of course you have to be there. I have no right to try and make you feel guilty for going."

"You know I'd rather be with you, but I already missed one game when you were in the hospital. I can't miss another."

"I know. I'm really sorry. Can you forgive me?"he took her hands in his.

She gave him a half smile."I don't know. What are you going to do for me?"

"What ever you want."

"Well I want for you to go with me to the party after the game."

"Brooke..."

"I know your probably a little nervous, seeing how the last party ended for you, but I'll take care of you tonight. We'll both stick with soda."

"It's not that Brooke."

"Then what is it?"

"I'm just not ready to party with the guys right now. It's hard enough knowing there's a game tonight. I don't feel like helping them celebrate when I did nothing to to help in the game."

She nodded."Okay. How about we meet up after the game at the cafe and we go from there?"

"Your okay with not going to the party?"asked Lucas skeptically.

"Yes. As long as I'm with you I don't care where I'm at. Besides your looking pretty healed."she smirked.

"I hope that means what I think it means."he pulled her closer to him and rested his arm on her hips.

"I don't know, we'll see. Now lets get to class or we'll be late."Lucas closed his locker and they made their way to second period.

* * *

Brooke quickly changed after the game. A little part of her still wanted to go to the party, but in the end she just really wanted to spend time with Lucas. There had been a little tension between them this past week. It had been her fault though. She knew Lucas was getting a little frustrated with her hovering over him, but not really getting close enough for anything to happen. Sure she missed being with him, but she just didn't want to hurt him. 

She put her uniform in her gym bag and zipped it up, throwing the strap over her shoulder.

Theresa stopped her as she was about to exit the locker room."Bye Brooke. I'll see you at the party later right?"

She shook her head."No, not tonight."

"What? Your not going? A party isn't a party without Brooke Davis. You have to come."

"I'm sorry. I want to, but Lucas just wants it to be me and him tonight."

"Oh, I get it now."said Theresa cocking up an eyebrow.

"So you and Lucas got back together?"asked Kelly walking up to the two girls.

Brooke turned to her."Yeah, about three weeks ago."

Kelly nodded."Good for you. We all knew it was only a matter of time until that happened. You two belong together."

Brooke smiled. Kelly was being nice, when she could have been a bitch.Kelly also liked Lucas."Thank you and we do, don't we?"said Brooke with a laugh."I hope you guys have fun tonight. I should be going. I have to meet Lucas in like ten minutes."

"Have fun."said Theresa.

Brooke rolled her eyes at her and walked out to her car. She had actually had fun tonight. For some reason she thought it was going to be bleak, but it wasn't. There was no tension, probably because Peyton decided to be a no show, which didn't bother her at all. Having Haley on the squad was definitely a plus. Sure she still had a lot to learn, but they had so much fun together. It was a shame it had taken them this long to become friends.

* * *

She quickly parked when she pulled into the cafe and walked in. Lucas must not have heard the bell above the door jingle because he didn't turn around. She took this opportunity to sneak up behind him and scare him. She grabbed both his sides and screamed."RAH!" 

Lucas practically jumped out of his seat."Damn it Brooke. You scared the hell out of me."

She couldn't help but laugh. This was definitely the funniest thing she'd seen.

"You think that was funny?"asked Lucas. Brooke nodded still laughing."Okay, I'll give you something to laugh about."he got up off his seat and started to tickle her.

Brooke was now laughing hysterically. She was able to get out of his grasp easily, since he only had one good arm."Okay, Lucas stop. It wasn't funny. I'm sorry."

"Good."he took his seat at the counter."So how was the game? Did we win?"he didn't know why he asked that, of course they won, they always won.

She stopped laughing."Are you sure you want to hear about that?"

"I asked, didn't I?"

"Okay, well yes we won. 67-42."

"That's good, but if I was there our score would have been in the 90's."said Lucas matter of factly.

"Oh you don't think too highly of yourself huh?"

"Hey I'm just stating a fact."he said as he shrugged.

"Sure you are. So what are we doing tonight?"

"I don't know? Do you want to go out? We could just go to my house. My mom was going to Keith's when I left."

"We could do that."

"Or I could take you out if you want."he offered.

"No, it's okay. I'd rather go back to your house. We'll go out tomorrow or something."

"That's fine by me."he got up off the counter."Lets go."

"Did you bring a car?"

"No I walked."

"Okay, well I guess we're taking my car."she grabbed him by the hand and led him out.

* * *

Thank you for all the reviews. I love each and every one of them. I especially want to say thanks to** Laneta C.** Thanks for reading the story even though your a die hard Leyton fan. I'm glad I converted you to Brucas even if for only this story. I hope you continue to read it. I know this was a short chapter. The next one will be a bit longer. I hope everyone liked this chapter. Please let me know what you think. Read and review! Thanks. 

**Coming up:**

Karen and Keith get caught in an awkward position.

Some Brucas loving.("**R" rated chapter)**

Brooke gets a surprise on her lawn.


	29. A Little Love In the Evening

_Well I really have no business updating my story tonight. I should be in bed. I have a full day tomorrow starting with babysitting my sisters baby and ending with the Kelly Clarkson concert, but I am on such a high tonight from Kelly Monaco winning Dancing With The Stars, that I just felt like updating. So thank Kelly for this update. You were the best and definitely deserved to win. Go Kelly! Sorry you guys could probably care less about that show. Now onto the story. Thanks. Oh I almost forgot. This chapter is rated "R". It goes a little into detail, not a lot, but still a warning is necessary for this chapter. If you don't like that kind of stuff you might want to skip this one._

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

_**A Little Love In The Evening**_

Brooke followed Lucas inside the house and closed the kitchen door behind her."What's that noise?"she asked.

"It sounds like the radio."Lucas walked into the living room with Brooke following. He reached for the light switch and turned it on. He had hoped to never see what was now before him.

Brooke gasped from her position next to him. A smile quickly made it's way across her face."Karen, Keith. What's up?"she couldn't help the slight laugh that escaped her.

Lucas shot her a look and she stopped.

Karen quickly got up from her position under Keith and hurriedly buttoned her shirt. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked completely mortified. Keith didn't look any better himself. He quickly found his shirt and slipped it on.

They had just caught the two adults fully going at it, missing clothes and all.

"Lucas, Brooke. Wh..wh..what are you doing here?"asked Karen stuttering. She had never been this embarrassed. She looked over to Brooke, who seemed pretty amused by the situation. She had a huge smile on her face.

"I do live here mom."

"I know. I just thought you two were going out tonight."

"Obviously."said Brooke laughing."If you two want some privacy we could..."she trailed off motioning toward the door.

"No Brooke that won't be necessary."said Karen."We were actually about to leave. Isn't that right Keith?"

"Yeah, we have dinner reservations."he said without making any eye contact.

"That we do and we have other plans for afterward as well so I might be home late. If it gets too late I'll probably stay at Keith's. I'll call either way."

Lucas nodded.

"Well you two kids have fun."said a smiling Brooke.

Karen rolled her eyes at the young girl. She was definitely something else. She grabbed Keith's hand and led him out the door.

The second the door closed Brooke burst out laughing."Now that was something I never thought I'd see before. Your mom and uncle were totally going at it. Just think what we would have seen if we had come ten minutes later."

"I'd rather not think about that."said Lucas wanting to get the image of his mother and his uncle out of his head.

"Oh come on Lucas you have to admit it was funny."

"It was definitely something, but funny wasn't it."

"Lucas they are in love. I think it's cute."

"Well can't they be cute behind closed doors?"

"They could, but then what fun would that be?"

"I really don't want to talk about them anymore."

"Well what do you want to do?"asked Brooke plopping herself down on the couch.

Lucas made his way to the couch and sat down next to her."I could think of a couple of things."said Lucas leaning down to kiss her neck.

"Oh really and what would those _things_ be?"asked Brooke leaning her head to the other side to give him more access.

"Well we could do more of this."said Lucas continuing to kiss her. He found the spot just below her ear that he knew she loved. He kissed her hard and then let his tongue trace light circles around it.

Brooke couldn't help but moan in pleasure. She loved it when he kissed her there. She placed her hand on the back of her neck and pulled him closer to her. She felt his tongue glide across her skin and she let out another moan.

Lucas kissed his way to her lips and slipped his tongue into her mouth. His tongue glided across her own caressing it.

She pulled away from the kiss slightly and took his bottom lip between her teeth and gently bit it.

He let out a loud moan of his own. He loved when she did that. She always seemed to know what he wanted and needed. He placed his good arm around her wanting to feel her body against his.

She felt him pushing her against himself and also wanting to be nearer, she quickly got up from her position and sat on his lap, straddling him. She placed her hands on both sides of his face and pulled him in for a kiss.

His hand made its way to her waist and under her shirt. He inched his way up until he felt the lacy material of her bra. He slipped a finger under her bra and gently grazed her breast. Her loud moan only spurred him on and he cupped her breast more firmly giving it a squeeze.

She loved the way it felt when his hands were on her. His touch sent chills down her spine. She'd been with a number of guys, but never had she felt like this. No guy had ever taken the time to make sure she was enjoying herself. She broke their kiss and slipped off her shirt, throwing it on the floor, wanting no barriers between herself and Lucas. Without wasting any time she pulled the shirt from his body, mindful of his broken arm and shoulder. She loved the way he looked without a shirt on. He was so sexy. She ran her hands up and down his chest.

He placed his hand behind her head and pulled her down for another kiss. Kissing her never got old. He moved his legs, placing them closer to the couch, causing her to slide closer into him.

She began to move sensually, grinding herself against him as her hands made their way to his belt. She quickly undid it and the top button of his pants. She suddenly stopped when she thought of something.

Lucas felt her pull away."What..what's wrong?"he asked while out of breath.

"Nothing."she leaned in and kissed him and then again pulled away."It's just that..you do know that we are making out on the exact spot that your mom and Keith were, right?"she smiled at him.

He let out a sigh."Come on Brooke, don't ruin this."

"Sorry."she leaned in and kissed him again.

He didn't respond to the kiss though. He just looked at her."Screw this."he placed his arm around her waist and got up off the couch and carried her into his room, with Brooke laughing the whole way. There was no way he could finish this on that couch, not after what he saw earlier. He kicked the door shut behind him and placed her on the bed. He took his position over her and again kissed her neck. He made his way down to her chest leaving a trail of fiery kisses. He used his hand to unclasp the front of her bra and pulled each piece to the side. He stared at the sight in front of him."You are so beautiful."he whispered huskily. He lowered his head and took her left breast into his mouth.

She couldn't help the loud moan that escaped. Her hands found the back of his neck and she pulled him further into her.

He made his way to her other breast and took it into his mouth, while his hand massaged the other.

She was on fire for him. The feeling of his mouth on her was wonderful, but she was greedy, she wanted more. He slowly lifted his head and kissed his way up to her lips. Her hands raked down his chest and to his pants, where she unzipped the zipper and pulled them down.

Lucas kicked them fully off and they landed in a pile on the floor. He lifted himself off of her and inched his way down, kissing every inch of her body. His tongue traced her belly button as his hand found the buttons of her jeans. He quickly undid them, placing a kiss on every inch that was revealed by each button being undone.

Brooke closed her eyes. She felt dizzy from pleasure. It all felt so good. Everything Lucas did always felt good.

Lucas felt her lift her hips as he pushed her pants down. They too landed in a pile on the floor. He kissed her over the thin lacy material before inching his way up.

She wanted him more than she ever wanted anyone. After he placed a sweet kiss on her lips she flipped herself and him over, so now she was on top of him. She got up into a sitting position and straddled his waist, mindful of his still bandaged side. She began to move about on him. The only barriers between them was the thin lacy material of her panties and his boxers. She continued to move on him.

Lucas let out a moan."Are you trying to kill me?"

Brooke smiled."Why? Is it working?"

"I'm about to explode."

Brooke stopped moving."Then I guess we should do this huh?"he nodded.

They quickly removed their remaining clothes and with Lucas now again on top,he slowly entered her. Once in Lucas stopped wanting Brooke to adjust to him again. It had been more than a month since they had _been_ together.

Brooke again closed her eyes, taking in the feel of Lucas. Being with him again like this was heaven. Nothing compared to the way he made her feel. She slowly opened her eyes as Lucas leaned in and kissed her.

Lucas kissed her slowly wanting to savor every moment with her because not long ago he thought he'd never be with her again.

Brooke loved how gentle he was being, but wanted more. She began to kiss him more firmly as she ran her hands down his back, pushing him further into her.

Lucas took this as his cue and started to move over her.

"Lucas."his name escaped her lips. This felt so good_. He_ felt so good.

They quickly found their rhythm and moved against each other in sync. Brooke wrapped her legs around his waist. Lucas' pace quickened and soon they both exploded in pleasure. Lucas collapsed on Brooke and she wrapped her arms around him, loving the feel of his weight on her.

* * *

They must have fallen asleep some time after their love making because they were both awaken by the ringing of the phone.

Brooke groaned."Lucas get the damn phone!"

"No. Let it ring."he didn't want to get up.

"You have to get it. It's late. It might be important."

It was his turn to groan."Fine. Will you hand it to me please?"

She begrudgingly got up and grabbed the phone and handed it to him."Your lucky I love you Broody. I don't get up when I'm sleepy for just _anyone_, you know."she went to lie back down, placing her head on his chest and her arm around his waist and closed her eyes.

Lucas kissed her forehead before answering the phone."Hello. No. I was asleep. Your on your way now? Okay, well be careful. I'll see you when you get here. Bye."he hung up."That was my mom. She's on her way home. I was kinda hoping she'd stay with Keith, so I could have you all to myself for the whole night."he wrapped his arm around her.

"Yeah, me too. Damn you Karen for not getting lucky."

"Please don't ever say that again Brooke."

She laughed as she pulled out of his grasp and leaned over the bed to collect her clothes. She slipped on her panties and bra and then her jeans. She looked around the room."Broody, do you know where my shirt is?"

"Yeah, it's in the living room remember?"

"That's right. We started this in there."she opened the door and walked to the living room and grabbed her shirt along with his. She pulled it on as she made her way back to his room. He was still lying on the bed undressed. She threw him his shirt."Are you ever gonna get dressed?"

"Why? I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't know, maybe because when your mom gets home and sees you like that she's gonna know what happened here tonight. I don't know about you, but I want your mom to like me."

"She does."

"Yeah, and I want to keep it that way. I don't want her thinking I'm corrupting her precious angel."she said as she rolled her eyes. Lately he'd been the one doing the corrupting.

"Fine, hand me my boxers please."he quickly got dressed and walked her out to her car."I wish you could stay with me tonight. I'm gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Broody. How about tomorrow we spend the night at my house?"

"That sounds like a plan. I'll call you tomorrow okay? I love you Brooke."he leaned in for a kiss.

"I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow."she gave him one last kiss before getting into her car and driving off.

* * *

Brooke pulled into her driveway and turned the car off. She quickly got out and was walking toward the door when something on the ground caught her eye. Something was lying on her lawn. She made her way over to see what it was. The closer she got the more she knew what it was. She stood above it and looked down."Un-freaken-believable."she nudged the person with her foot."Hey get up. Come on Peyton, get up. Fine. I'm gonna leave your sorry ass out here. I don't care."even as she said it, she knew she would never do that. She'd hate herself if she did and something happened to Peyton. She rolled her eyes at her former best friend and bent down to pick her up._ Things had definitely changed._ This used to be her, getting drunk at a party and not knowing where she was going to end up or with who. Now she was the one staying in with her boyfriend."You are so gonna owe me for this."Brooke carried her into the house and into her room. She put Peyton on her bed and covered her.

Brooke quickly changed and went to lie down on the small couch next to the wall. She didn't know why she had helped Peyton. She still hated her for everything she did. She just guessed that she was a better person than her former best friend.

* * *

_Thank you all for your reviews, especially karaokediva419, who started to review the first three chapters of my story even though she isn't a Brucas fan. I hope you enjoy the story. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was a little hard for me to write. I've never written anything that went into detail. Please tell me what you think. Did you like it? Was it a bit too much? Am I horrible at those kind of scenes? I appreciate everything you say. So again let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks._

**Coming Up:**

Peyton and Brooke talk.

Lucas is a little confused.

Brooke finds out something Lucas should know.


	30. Coming Clean

_I apologizes in advance for this chapter being so short. I wanted to post something for you all and I had to end it here to start the next chapter where it needed to start. The next chapter will definitely be longer. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks._

**Chapter Thirty**

_**Coming Clean**_

Ring, ring, ring.

The shrill ring of the phone awoke Peyton early the next morning. She opened her eyes and it took her a second to recognize the room she was in. Brooke's. She tried remembering how she got here, but she couldn't. She couldn't even remember what happened the night before. It was as if she totally blanked out. She had never drank this much. The phone continued to ring. Whoever it was was determined to talk to Brooke."Brooke!"yelled Peyton."Your phone is ringing."she heard the shower running and knew Brooke hadn't heard her. The phone continued to ring and Peyton reluctantly answered it."Hello?"

"Brooke?"

"No, it's Peyton."

"Peyton? What are you doing there?"

"Well I was sleeping until you decided to call and let the phone ring and ring and ring. Didn't anyone ever tell you to hang up after three rings Lucas?"

"Whatever. Look is Brooke there?"he was confused as to why Peyton was at her house. He knew Brooke had to be there, but then why did Peyton answer the phone?

"Yeah, she's in the shower, hold on, I think she's coming."she took the phone off her ear and held it out to Brooke as she walked out of the restroom."Here. It's for you."

"Who is it?"asked Brooke adjusting her robe.

"Lucas."she handed her the phone and lied back down pulling the covers over her head.

"Hey baby."

"Brooke?"

"That's me. I better be the only one that calls you baby."

"You are."

"Good. So what are you doing up this early gorgeous?"

"I just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you."

"Well that's sweet. I miss you too."

"I was hoping you would say that. So why is Peyton at your house?"

"I don't know."she shrugged even though she knew he couldn't see her. The truth was she really didn't know why her ex best friend showed up drunk at her house and then passed out on her lawn.

"What do you mean you don't know? Did you invite her over?"

"Hell no. Look I don't want to get into that right now. What's up with you?"

"Nothing. I just called to ask you if you wanted to go to breakfast with me."

"I'd love to. I just need to get dressed. I just got out of the shower."

"Ooh, the mental pictures."laughed Lucas.

"Shut up Broody. Your always thinking about sex. Wow. I can't believe I just said that. That used to be what I always did. Things sure have changed."

"Hey can you blame me? I have one hell of a hot girlfriend."

"That you do. So anyways give me like an hour and I'll meet you at the cafe."

"Okay. I'll see you then. I love you."

"I love you too, bye."she hung up and walked over to the bed."Okay well now that your awake, you can get the hell out of here."

Peyton pulled the covers down."Well good morning to you too, Brooke."

"No, it would only be a good morning if you weren't here, so leave."

Peyton sat up."I will, but first we really need to talk."

"I don't know what your doing, but I know you heard that I have to meet Lucas in an hour, so sorry, but I don't have time to talk to you right now."

"Brooke please. If I don't tell you now, I might never tell you or anyone for that matter."

She now had Brooke's full attention. This sounded pretty serious."Fine, but make it fast."she sat down on her bed next to Peyton.

Peyton got up and started pacing. She didn't know what to say, but she knew she needed to say it."Your gonna hate me when you hear this."

"I already hate you Peyton."

"Well your gonna hate me more then."

"What's going on? Are you trying to tell me that you lied when you said nothing happened with you and Lucas? Did you really sleep with him? Are you pregnant?"all those questions suddenly popped into her head and she feared that the answer to all of them was yes.

Peyton shook her head."No it's none of those things."she saw Brooke let out a sigh of relief and continued."It's worse than all of that."

"What the hell is it? Are you okay? Your not sick are you?"suddenly Brooke became scared. What if Peyton wasn't alright?

"I'm fine. Look just know that I am very sorry for what I did. If I'd known what I do now, I wouldn't have done it."she shook her head.

"Will you just get to what _it _is?"

Peyton took a deep breath before continuing."I'm the reason that Lucas was in the hospital."she looked at Brooke waiting to see her reaction.

Brooke looked at her in disbelief and then suddenly it all sunk in and anger over took her."Are you telling me that you put that shit in Lucas' drink?"she quickly got up from her bed and went to stand in front of Peyton.

"No, that's not what I'm saying. It's just that I gave him the alcohol."

Brooke's face softened slightly."God Peyton. Look we already knew that you gave him the Vodka. That's nothing new. That doesn't mean it was your fault, stop blaming yourself."

"I know, but what you don't know is that I brought that Vodka to the party especially for Lucas. I needed him to drink it in order for my plan to work."

"You mean the plan where you wanted me to think that you two slept together? That plan?"

"Yes."she said shaking her head. It sounded so ridiculous right now.

"Okay, tell me something. If you brought the Vodka, but didn't put that drug in it, then how did it get in there?"

"It had it already in there when I brought it."

Brooke's eyes narrowed. She wasn't understanding Peyton at all."But I thought you said you didn't do it?"

"I didn't. I got it from a friend. They said it was a special blend and that I should give it to Lucas."

"Okay so your saying you knew that there was something in it?"

"Yes...no. They said it was only a mixture of different alcohols, something to guarantee my plan worked. I had no clue it had drugs in it. I swear Brooke I didn't know."

"You knew it had something in it though and you gave it to him anyways. I mean come on Peyton, even your not stupid enough to believe that it was only a mixture of different alcohols."

"Your right I'm not, but I wasn't thinking clearly. All I wanted was to keep Lucas and you apart and they said that this would help me do that. They said they'd used it before and it worked."

"_They_? Who's _they? _You keep saying _they."_

"I said I wouldn't tell."

"I don't care what you said Peyton. Your partly to blame for Lucas' accident. You owe him a name. He and his mom have been going out of their minds wondering how this happened. This person needs to be stopped, especially since you said that they said they'd used it before and it worked. Was it a guy?"she asked. Peyton nodded."You see. You saw how out of it Lucas was. What if this guy used this stuff to get a girl into bed and now she can't even remember it like Lucas can't remember?"

"I never thought about that."she said as she looked down, tears threatening to spill out at any moment.

"That's just it Peyton. You haven't been thinking period lately. Who was it?"she asked again. She needed to know and so did Lucas. She knew him knowing would give him some kind of piece of mind.

Peyton looked up, knowing Brooke would be furious when she found out."Debbie's brother, Rodger."

Brooke gasped. That was the last person she thought Peyton would go to."Rodger? You went to Rodger? How could you even talk to him after what he did to me? He is slime, hell he is worse that slime and you know it. What is wrong with you?"Brooke shook her head. She knew from personal experience how bad Rodger was and now Peyton was mixed up with him.

"I didn't go to him. I was with Debbie and he over heard us talking and he offered me his help."

"And you took it? You know what, I don't care how it happened, but because of your twisted plan to get Lucas, he may never play basketball again. I hope your happy about that."

This was it. She could no longer keep the tears in. Everything Brooke said was true. Lucas might never be able to play basketball again and it was all her fault."I'm not happy about that Brooke? How could I be? Ever since I found out what was in that Vodka, I've hated myself for bringing it and giving it to him. I know I didn't know what was in it, but I know what happened was still my fault."she continued to cry, not bothering to wipe away her tears. It would be a waste of time, more continued to fall.

Brooke looked at Peyton. She hated seeing her hurting and crying like this. She wanted to be doing what she normally would be doing if they were still friends, holding and comforting her, telling her everything would be okay, that _they_ would be okay, but she couldn't. They were no longer friends and Peyton was right this was her fault. How could she tell her everything would be alright when she knew it wouldn't. Peyton did this to herself and her stupid jealous actions might have cost Lucas the one thing he loved most in the world. The sadness she once felt for her once best friend was now replaced with anger. She was angry that Peyton had been this dumb. She should have known better."Your damn straight this was your fault Peyton."she shook her head."Lucas is going to flip when he hears this."

Peyton knew she was right. Lucas was definitely going to be mad."I guess I should go and tell him next. I should have told him before I told you."Peyton moved to walk away, but Brooke stopped her.

"No, your not going anywhere near him. I'll tell him."

"He should hear it from me Brooke. I at least owe him that."

"Yeah, he should, but if he does I don't know what he'll do. He hates the fact that he can't play basketball right now and he might never get to play again. If he is face to face with the person who helped make him this way, I don't know what he'd do. I'll tell him and if he wants to talk to you about it later, when he cools down, then he will."

"Are you sure about this Brooke? You shouldn't have to clean up my messes."

"Your right, I shouldn't. You shouldn't be making messes like this in the first place, but yes. I'm sure I want to tell him."

"Thanks Brooke. It means a lot to me that you want to help me."

"Whoa, I'm not doing this to help you Peyton. I'm doing this for Lucas. I could care less about you right now."

"Okay."

"Yeah, so you need to leave. I have to get ready."she turned to walk into the restroom, but quickly turned back."Oh and the next time you decide to get drunk, pass out on someone else's lawn because next time I will leave you there."she stared back at Peyton.

Peyton grabbed her shoes and walked to the door."Bye Brooke."she waited for a response, but didn't get one, so she turned and walked out the door.

Brooke plopped down on her bed. There was so many things Peyton could have said, but this was definitely the last thing she thought she'd hear. Sure she knew it wasn't actually Peyton's fault, she believed that she didn't know about the drugs, but still she brought the alcohol for Lucas knowing it was more that normal Vodka and that was bad in its self. If it wasn't for her and her incredibly stupid plan Lucas would be okay and probably playing basketball right now."How am I going to tell Lucas?"she said out loud. She had no idea how she was going to tell him. How do you tell your boyfriend something like this? She sat on her bed for a few minutes just thinking. She looked at the clock next to her bed and knew that she needed to get ready to meet Lucas so she reluctantly got up off the bad to go get dressed. She hoped that the right thing to say to him would just come to her before she saw him.

_

* * *

_

_Thank you all for reviewing. I love each and every review. They really help a writer. I especially want to thank **karaokediva419**. She barely started reading this story and spent her time to review every chapter and she isn't even a Brucas fan. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. I also just want to say everybody should check out her stories. They are really good. Now I again apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I normally like to write long chapters, but this one needed to end here. Please let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks._

**Coming Up:**

Brooke meets up with Lucas.

Brooke goes to Nathan for advice.

More with Jake and Peyton.


	31. Togetherness

**Chapter Thirty One**

**_Togetherness_**

Brooke walked into the cafe and once again saw Lucas was sitting at the counter with his back facing her. She thought of repeating her last nights actions and sneaking up on him, but decided against it. He was still healing from his surgery and he did jump up pretty high yesterday when she scared him, besides she'd given him enough of a work out last night. She found herself smiling as she remembered everything about last night. She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"It seems like somebody is happy to see me."said Lucas pulling her in front of him and giving her a quick kiss.

"Na, I was just giving you a little something to make you want to buy me breakfast. Did it work?"asked Brooke taking her seat next to him.

Lucas shook his head."Not quite, but if you want, we could go back to your house and you could work on it there."

Brooke rolled her eyes at him. Things sure had changed. He never used to be the one to initiate sex or make these type of comments. That had always been her thing, to initiate the sexual banter. She guessed this was how Lucas was when he was able to open up and be himself. She definitely liked this side of Lucas, the fun jokey side of him."What did I tell you earlier about the sex?"

"I don't know, that it was amazing, well that is when you weren't moaning my name."said Lucas with a smirk. He knew that would get a reaction out of her. He never used to be like this, but being around Brooke brought it out in him. He loved playing with her and getting these kind of reactions from her was pretty funny.

Lucas' comment made her blush. She definitely hadn't thought he'd say something like that. She looked around to make sure nobody heard him. Lucas saw and started to laugh."What?"asked Brooke. She had no idea why he was laughing.

"It's just funny, that's all."

Still confused she asked"What's funny?"

"You looking around to see if anyone heard what I said. You never used to care."

"I know and I still don't. It's just that what we do is private and this is your mother's cafe. We don't need anything getting back to her."

He now also looked around. She was right. This was his mom's cafe and he had said that pretty loud."Your right, sorry."

"Don't be."

"So what are we gonna do today?"asked Lucas taking her hand in his.

"I don't know, but lets do something fun."

"You name it, we'll do it." said Lucas looking up from the menu now open in front of him. He didn't know why he still looked at the menu, he knew everything on it.

She looked at him and was about to make a suggestion when a waitress came and took their order.

Shortly after placing their order their food came. They continued to talk about what they could do. They still hadn't decided on what to do when Brooke changed the subject."Lucas we should talk."she hated to ruin the mood, but she knew Lucas needed to know about Peyton. If she didn't tell him now and he found out later that she knew he'd hate her for keeping it from him and she wanted their new relationship to be built on honesty."It's important."

"Okay what is it?"he asked concerned. Brooke had suddenly gotten serious and he wanted to know why.

Brooke tried to find the right words to say what needed to be said, but what were the right words to tell someone you loved that the person they thought they once loved helped drug him and may have helped ruin his chances at playing basketball again. There definitely was no easy way to say that.

"Brooke?"

"It's just that today I..."she paused when she didn't know what to say next. She heard the bell jingle above the door and saw Nathan walk in. She'd never been more happy to see him. She knew now that she wanted to talk to him about this first. Brooke looked over to Lucas and saw his questioning eyes still on her, wanting to know what was going on. She needed to think of something to tell him and fast."It's just that today maybe I should spend some time with Nathan. I really want to be with you, but I haven't really spent much time with him lately and I miss him. Is that okay? We can still hook up afterward. I mean your still staying over tonight, right?"

He nodded."Is that what was so important you needed to tell me?"

"Yes. I didn't want you to be upset with me."she lied. _So much for the relationship being built on honesty_.

Lucas looked at her questioningly."Why would I be upset that you wanted to spend some time with your best friend? I should be wanting to do the same with Haley."

"Yeah you should and you should want to do it now."said Brooke as she got up from her seat."I'm gonna go.I really need to talk to Nathan."she walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss before walking over to Nathan, who was at the other side of the counter.

Nathan hadn't seen her when he walked in so he was surprised when he saw her coming up to him."Hey B. What's up?"

"I just found out something major today and I need your advice on it."said Brooke without giving him a hello.

"Okay. It sounds important. Tell me about it."

"No, I cant do it here. We're gonna have to leave."she said pulling his hand and trying to lead him to the door.

"Wait.I haven't even eaten yet."

"But your not even that hungry."

"How would you know that Brooke?"

"Because I just do. Now lets go to my house."she gave Lucas one last wave before dragging Nathan out the door.

* * *

Once Brooke and Nathan got to her house, he quickly made his way to her kitchen. 

Brooke followed him"What are you doing?"

"I'm fixing me something to eat. You pulled me out of the cafe before I ordered remember? I'm hungry."

"Fine, but make it quick. I really need to talk to you."

Nathan quickly made himself a sandwich and started to eat it on the counter, deciding not to eat on the dining room table."So go ahead and talk B. What do you need my advice on?"

Brooke looked up at him knowing she could tell him anything and he would help her."Well when I got home late last night I found Peyton passed out on my lawn. I brought her into my house to sleep. The next morning when we talked she told me something I kinda wish she hadn't. I really rather not know this."

"What did she tell you?"

Brooke took a deep breathe."She said that she was the reason Lucas was in the hospital."

Nathan looked at her for a second before talking."So your saying that she confessed to giving him the drugs?"Brooke shook her head."But I thought you said..."Brooke cut him off.

"I did. She told me that she brought the Vodka for Lucas, but she didn't know it had drugs in it."

"I don't get it."

"Okay she brought the alcohol and even though she didn't know about the drugs, she knew it had something in it."

"So she actually said that to you?"

"Yes, she said she needed it to help with her plan to keep me and Lucas apart. She knows she's partly to blame and it seems as if she really hates herself for it, but I don't care, she did this and needs to own up to it."

"It seems like she already has. Did she go and tell Lucas too? What did he say?"

Brooke shook her head."That's actually what I needed to talk to you about."

"Okay, go ahead. What's up?"

"Well Peyton wanted to go and tell Lucas, but I told her to stay away from him."

"Why? Are you still worried about them doing something together?"

"No, yes. I don't know. I know Lucas loves me, so no I'm not worried about that. I told Peyton that I should be the one to tell him though. She didn't want that, but she finally agreed. I was going to tell him earlier at the cafe, but I couldn't figure out what to say, so I decided to talk to you first. Now my question is, was I right to tell Peyton I should be the one to tell Lucas?"

He shook his head."No."

"No?"she questioned.

"Yeah, no. This really isn't any of your business B."

"Of course this is my business. Lucas is my boyfriend and Peyton made it my business by telling me about it first."

"Okay your partially right, but Peyton did this and she should be the one to tell Lucas, not you."

"But don't you think I might be able to soften the blow?"

"Yeah, you might, but Brooke telling Lucas should be something Peyton does. She wanted to before you said anything, right?"Brooke nodded."Okay, then let her. You can be there for Lucas once he hears."Brooke continued to look at him."Besides I think you already knew this is Peyton's job or you would have told Lucas earlier."

"Your right. I hate it when your right."

Nathan laughed."So are you gonna tell Peyton you changed your mind?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm gonna have to, if she gonna be the one to tell him."

* * *

Jake rushed to Peyton's house right after she called and told him that she needed him. He left Jenny with his mother and promised he'd be right back. 

Peyton ran to the door after she heard the bell and opened it, throwing her arms around Jake."I'm sorry I called you. I just really needed someone to talk to."

"Hey don't worry about it. I said I was here for you and I meant it."

Peyton smiled at him as she grabbed his hand and led him into her house. They went and sat down in the living room."It's done."she simply stated, not adding anything more.

"Okay, but what's done?"he had no clue as to what she was talking about.

"Brooke knows everything. I told her this morning."

"I'm glad you told someone, but I thought we agreed telling Lucas first was the better thing to do."

"We did agree to that and I tried to, but then Brooke came and I chickened out. I told her though and it was pretty horrible. She hates me and I don't blame her. What I did was awful and now Lucas may never play basketball again and it's all my fault."Peyton began to cry. She'd started to hate crying, seeing how that's all she'd been doing lately, cry.

Jake pulled her into a hug."Shh, it's okay. This isn't your fault. You need to stop saying that it is. You didn't know what was in that Vodka..."he was about to continue, but Peyton cut him off.

"Yeah, I didn't, but I brought it because of my stupid plan. If I would have just let Brooke and Lucas be, none of this would have happened. I just really thought that I loved him and he loved me back. I thought that he was only trying to get Brooke back because he felt bad for her, but I was wrong. He really does love her and I don't love him either. It was just an infatuation. When he told me he wanted me, it made me start to feel things that weren't really there. I hate that I ruined my friendship with Brooke over something that wasn't real. How pathetic is that?"

"Peyton your not pathetic. Your human. We all make mistakes and this was just one of yours."Jake didn't know what it was, but all he wanted to do was make Peyton feel better. Who was he kidding? He knew why he felt that way. It was because he liked her more than he was willing to admit. He wanted to be with her, he just wished she felt the same way. At least now she seemed to be over Lucas. Lucas was the last person he wanted to compete with.

"Brooke is never gonna forgive me. She made that perfectly clear this morning."

"Look, Brooke is just mad right now. Give her time. Once you tell Lucas and they both have some time to really think about everything, they'll know that you are truly sorry for the things you've done."Jake hoped for her sake that he was right, but he wasn't so sure.

"I hope your right. I'm not the one that's gonna tell Lucas though."

"What?"

"I wanted to tell him, but Brooke said no. She said she should be the one to tell him. She told me to stay away from him, that if after she tells him he wants to talk to me, he'll come to me."

Jake shook his head."Well Brooke is dead wrong on this. She should not be the one to tell Lucas. I'll go and tell her so myself if you want."

"No. It's probably too late anyways. She was going to meet Lucas this morning when I left her house."

"I just think that if anyone tells him other than you, he's gonna be more upset with you. He might even think you didn't care enough about what you did to him to tell him yourself."

"Hopefully he doesn't think that because I don't want him to hate me. I mean I know he already doesn't like me, but if he were to hate me I don't know what I'd do."she tried to wipe away her tears, but more came.

Jake hated seeing her like this. She was hurting so much and it was all because of the things she herself had done. He again pulled her into hug, rubbing her back.

Peyton slowly pulled away when she felt a little better. As she pulled away she looked into Jake's eyes and saw something she had never seen before, but she wasn't sure what it was.

Jake looked back at Peyton, waiting for her to turn away, when she didn't he found himself slowly moving forward. Their lips were only inches away. Peyton moved her head forward slightly and closed the gap between them.

The kiss was slow and gentle. Peyton's hand made it's way to the back of Jake's neck. She was about to deepen the kiss when she heard someone clear their throat.

They both pulled apart to see who it was.

Brook stood in the doorway watching the two."Well you two look rather close. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Jake was just here helping me. What are you doing here Brooke?"

"I need to talk to you."was all Brooke said.

Jake looked between the two girls and knew this was his cue to leave."I guess I'll go then."he turned to Peyton."Call me later okay?"she nodded and he leaned in and kissed her forehead before walking away."Bye Brooke."

"Bye Jake."said Brooke as he walked out and closed the door behind him. She turned back to Peyton."So what's going on with you two?"she motioned with her head toward the door Jake had just left in."

"Nothing really. What's up Brooke? What do you want to talk about?"

"Lucas."

"Did you tell him already? What did he say?"this was it. She was about to find out if Lucas hated her as much as she thought he would.

"No, I didn't tell him yet. That's just it, I'm not going to tell him. You are."

"But I thought you said you wanted to?"

"I did, but Nathan thinks that you should be the one to tell Lucas."

"Jake thinks that too."

"I agree with them. This really isn't any of my business. It's yours and Lucas'."

"I know."

"Okay well you need to tell him now. I hate that I know this and he doesn't. If you wait any longer and he finds out that I knew, he's gonna be mad at me and there is no way that I'm gonna let you ruin my relationship with him again."

"Okay. If you want, I'll tell him right now."

"That's what I want."

"Do you know where he is?"

"No, but call him. Tell him you want to talk. He'll meet you."Brooke looked around not knowing what else to say."Well that's all I came to say."she started to walk away.

"Brooke."

Brooke turned around."What?"

"Is he gonna hate me?"

"I don't know, but if he does, he has every right to. What you did, everything you did, was unforgivable Peyton."she turned around and walked away.

"Brooke."Peyton called once more, but Brooke just continued to walk away and out the door."I'm sorry."said Peyton staring at the closed door.

* * *

_Thank you for all the reviews. I really appreciate them. I planned to have this chapter up sooner, but I instead posted the first chapter to my next story. It's called Secrets Kept. Anyways I put some B/N in this chapter because I was realized they hadn't been together in a while and they are supposed to be the main focus of this story. I also have more B/P in this chapter. Let me know what you think about those two. So I hope you liked this chapter and if you want you should check out my newest story. Let me know what you think. Please read and review._

**Coming Up:**

Brooke gets comfort from Nathan.

Peyton finally tells Lucas.

Brooke breaks up a serious argument.


	32. Mixed Emotions

_I just wanted to say that this is an emotional chapter for Lucas. So if he does something out of character just remember that he's been through a lot and is very emotional. Anyways I hope you enjoy. Thanks._

**Chapter Thirty Two**

_**Mixed Emotions**_

Brooke walked into her house and was happy to see that Nathan was still there.

Nathan sat on the couch in the living room watching T.V. He looked up when he heard the door open and shut and saw Brooke walk in. He was about to go back to watching T.V. when he saw Brooke rush to the couch and into his arms. Nathan wrapped his arms around her, not knowing what was going on. Soon he felt her burst into tears. He had no idea what had gotten her so upset, but only one name came to mind. Lucas. It had to be him that was making her cry. He was probably the only one who had the power to hurt her this much. He felt her slowly start to pull away. Her eyes were red and she looked incredibly sad."Hey B. What's going on? Are you okay?"he hoped that what ever was bothering her, she'd tell him.

"Tell me I'm stupid. Tell me this is stupid."said Brooke wiping away her tears. She was feeling a lot better now. She just needed a good cry.

"I'm sorry Brooke, but I can't do that. Your not stupid and I don't know what _this _is, so I don't know if it's stupid."

"Tell me it's stupid to want to forgive Peyton. Tell me everything she did was completely unforgivable and I'm better off now that she's out of my life."

"I can't do that Brooke. Sure she's done some horrible things to you, but you and only you know if it's forgivable or not. If you can seriously get passed everything and be friends with her, then that would be great, but only you know what your ready to do."

"That's just it. I don't know what to do. I know that everything she did was horrible and when I think back to it all,I find myself hating her all over again, but then I think back to everything else we've been through and I miss her. We've had so much more good stuff then bad. She's my best friend. We've known each other since we were little. How am I supposed to just cut her out of my life? How am I supposed to never talk to her again? The longest we've ever gone without talking has been a day. This past month and a half has been hell without her."

"Brooke if you want to forgive her then do it. If you can truly look past what she has done and be friends again, then that's amazing. It would just go to show that you are an amazing person with a big heart."

Brooke looked at him and gave him a quick smile before continuing to talk."But even though this past month or so has been hell and I miss her, how do I know forgiving her won't also turn out to be hell?"

"I don't know the answer to that Brooke."

"If I forgive her will I ever be able to trust her again? I mean how will I feel every time I see her and Lucas together? Will I always be jealous and suspicious?"asked Brooke not really expecting answers to her questions.

"Only you know those answers."

Brooke continued her rant, not even acknowledging Nathan."But if I don't forgive her, am I supposed to go the rest of my life without my best friend? What if Peyton needs me to help her turn her life around? What if she needs me to help her make things right? But then again what if I do all of that and she still ends up stabbing me in the back again? It's a possibility seeing how she's done it before."Brooke took a much needed deep breath after saying all that.

"Brooke I don't know if I can help you with this. You have given really good points on why you should and shouldn't forgive her. You just need to ask yourself if you can truly forgive her and get passed everything she did because if you can't then don't even bother trying."

"That's the thing, I don't know if I can do that. I mean one minute I can't stand her and want to wring her neck, but then the next she tells me she's sorry and starts to cry and all I want to do is hug her and tell her it's okay. I have always hated it when she cried. I always wanted to stop her pain and make it go away. I don't know maybe I'm just too sensitive and care too much about other people."

"You are very sensitive and you do care too much for other people, but those are good things Brooke. Those are some of your best qualities. So don't you even think about changing who you are."

Brooke couldn't believe how sweet Nathan was being. She pulled him into a hug."I love you so much Nate. You are the best friend a girl can have and your a very good confidence booster too. I need to keep you around for when I'm feeling crappy."said Brooke with a laugh.

"I'll definitely be here when ever you need me. So what have you decided?"

"I don't know. As much as I miss her I just don't know if I can ever trust her again."

"Well whatever you decide to do, I'm behind you 100 percent."

"Thank you Nate. That really means a lot to me. Your pretty perfect yourself you know and I don't say that to a lot of people, so you know I mean it."

"Do you ever say things you don't mean?"

Brooke shook her head."I guess not."

"Yeah your always the one to tell it like you see it, even if you see it wrong."said Nathan with a laugh.

Brooke rolled her eyes at him."Whatever, I'm never wrong."

"If you say so Brooke."Nathan leaned back on the couch and pulled her with him. She rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arm around his waist. He looked down at her."Brooke you know I love you too, right?"

She tilted her head and looked up at him."Of course I do."

"Good, just making sure. So what do you want to do now?"

"Nothing really. How about we just hang out like this until I have to leave? I have to see Lucas after he talks to Peyton."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that. I guess he's really gonna need you."

"Yeah he is. I just hope he's not too hard on Peyton. Technically she didn't know anything."

"But the question is, is technically going to be enough for Lucas?"

Brooke thought about that for a second."I don't know, but I hope so."

* * *

Peyton decided against calling Lucas first. She was afraid he would tell her he was too busy and couldn't talk to her. So instead she went to his house and hoped he'd be there. 

Peyton continued to sit in her car and tried to figure out what she was going to say. Everything she thought of just didn't sound right. Nothing sounded right. This whole thing was wrong, so how could she think there would be a right thing to say? After realizing that there absolutely was no right thing to say she got out of her car and walked up to Lucas' house. The closer she got to the house, the faster her heart began to beat. All Peyton wanted to do was turn around and go home, but she knew she couldn't.

Peyton stood in front of the door for what felt like forever before she raised her hand and knocked on the door. A part of her hoped he wasn't home, but then the other part knew that if he wasn't she'd still have to tell him eventually, so she might as well just get it over with. She stood still as the door opened.

To say Lucas was surprised when he saw Peyton would be an understatement. She was seriously the last person he thought would just show up at his house."Uh, Peyton. Hi. What are you doing here?"

"I thought we should talk."

"There is nothing we need to talk about Peyton."

"Your wrong Lucas. There is a lot we need to talk about. Can I come in?"

Lucas shook his head."That's not really a good idea Peyton. We should just talk out here. I mean if Brooke comes by and sees you inside, she might get the wrong idea and that's the last thing I want."

"Lucas this is important."she saw he was still hesitant."Please. Look if I don't say this now, I might never do it."

Lucas saw how serious Peyton was and knew it must really be important. he moved aside, opening the door wider for her to come in.

Peyton made her way to the living room. She turned to face Lucas, who too walked in. She looked around."Is your mom home? Maybe we should do this in your room."

Lucas shook his head. The last place he wanted to be alone with Peyton was his bedroom."No, she isn't. So what's going on Peyton? You wanted to talk, so talk."

"Okay, first off, how are you feeling? Does your arm and shoulder still hurt?"

"I'm doing fine and they don't hurt too much. Now I doubt you came over here to ask how I am. What is it Peyton? What is so important that you need to tell me?"

Peyton took a deep breath, knowing this was it."I first want to say that I am sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. Everything that happened that night was a mistake."

Lucas replayed everything Peyton had just said. _Everything that happened that night was a mistake. That night. _His mind began to spin."Peyton what are you trying to say? Did you lie when you said nothing happened with us? Did we really sleep together? Wait a second, are you pregnant?"Lucas hoped the answer to all those questions were no, but he wasn't so sure. _What else could she say about that night?_

Peyton couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face."Wow. You two really are meant to be together. Brooke asked those same exact questions when I told her this."

"Wait, so Brooke knows what you are about to tell me?"

Peyton nodded."Yes she does and to answer your questions, no. Nothing happened with us that night. Don't worry, I'm not trying to change the story now."

"Okay, well then will you please just tell me what is going on?"

"Okay, Lucas you need to know that if I could, I would take it all back. I just wanted to say that before I told you."Lucas nodded."Okay, well there's really no easy way to say this, and I should know because I've spent hours trying to find one, but it never..."

"Peyton please just get to the point."interrupted Lucas.

"Okay, sorry. Lucas I'm part of the reason you were in the hospital. Everything that happened that night was my fault. I feel horrible about it. I wish it never happened, but it did and now all I can do is come clean and hope you don't hate me, but if you do I will totally understand. I deserve your hate and so much more."Peyton finally stopped talking wanting to hear Lucas' response.

Lucas didn't say anything, he just stared at her. He was trying to process everything she had just said. She was the reason he was in the hospital. That could only mean one thing."Are you trying to tell me you put that shit in my drink?"shouted Lucas. _How the hell could she do that to him?_

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I wouldn't do that to you Lucas."

"Then what the hell are you saying?"he was now confused.

"I gave you that Vodka Lucas. You drank it because of me."

"Peyton I already knew that you gave it to me. That I remember, it's everything else I don't."

"I know that, but there's more Lucas. What you don't know is that I brought that Vodka to the party especially for you."

"Are you saying that you wanted to get me drunk?"

"Yes. I had this stupid plan and in order for it to work, you had to be drunk."

"What was your plan?"

"I wanted you to be so drunk that you would think we slept together. I knew that if you thought we slept together you would tell Brooke and then she would hate you for it and never speak to you again. Rodger said that what was in that Vodka would make my plan work."

"Wait. So your saying that you knew something was in there?"Lucas was now furious. She had known all along. She may not have put it in there herself, but she knew about it.

"Yes. I knew it wasn't just Vodka, but I didn't know it had drugs in it."

"What the hell did you think was in it? Water? Aspirin? You knew it had to be something strong enough to guarantee you psychotic plan worked."yelled Lucas.

Peyton now was a little scared. She knew that when Lucas found out he would be upset, but he was beyond upset and he wouldn't stop yelling."Rodger said that it was just a mixture of different alcohols and that..."she was cut off by Lucas.

"Your stupid Peyton, but not that stupid. I don't believe that you thought it was just a mixture of different alcohols. I think you knew exactly what was in there."Lucas continued to yell.

Peyton shook her head violently."No, no. I didn't know. I swear."

Lucas continued to yell at her as if he hadn't heard a word she said."You knew that Brooke was the one I wanted and that there was no way in hell that I would ever touch you again, so you drugged me to make it look like I did. You are psychotic and you need help."

"Lucas I swear I didn't know about the drugs, but I also know that's not an excuse. This is partly my fault and I should..."

"Partly your fault? Are you crazy? Yeah, I guess you are.This is fully your fault. If you wouldn't have gone all psycho stalker on me none of this would have happened. Why couldn't you accept that I no longer wanted to be with you?"Lucas was more than furious at her. He took a few steps forward and saw her take a few steps back, not wanting to be so near him."Do you know that because of what you did I might never get to play basketball again? Basketball is my life Peyton and you probably took it away from me forever."he took another step forward."But you probably don't care. This is just my payback for not wanting you right? You've never cared about anybody, but yourself."

"That's not true."she cut in.

"Like hell it isn't. I stopped everything once I realized how much I hurt Brooke. I didn't want to do it again, but you didn't stop. She was your best friend and you purposely hurt her over and over again. You never once cared about how she would feel. All you cared about was trying to get me back even though you knew I didn't want you. That's pretty sad if you ask me."

Peyton was a little surprised. She had never seen him act like this before. Sure he had every right to be angry at her, but he didn't have the right to talk to her like this and she wasn't going to let him."Yeah, well I didn't ask you, did I? You can think what you want to think about me. I can't stop you. I honestly don't know what I ever saw in you. You obviously aren't the person I thought you were. Now it has been fun talking to you again, but I said what I came her to say now I'm leaving."she tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her by the arm.

"Your not going anywhere. You just admitted to drugging me. I'm calling the police."

Peyton tried to pull away, but couldn't."Lucas get your hands off of me."shouted Peyton.

The second Peyton said that Brooke burst through the door."What the hell is going on here? I can hear you two all the way outside."Brooke walked over to them and saw that Peyton was struggling to get out of Lucas' grasp."Lucas, hey, let her go. Your hurting her."Lucas wouldn't let her go."Lucas! I said let go!"Brooke pulled his hand from Peyton's arm and turned to face her."What the hell is going on?"

"He doesn't believe that I didn't know the drink was drugged and he wants to call the police. I tried to leave, but he wouldn't let me. Brooke I swear I didn't know."

Brooke nodded at her."I know you didn't."she turned to face Lucas."Hey, she didn't know about the drugs Lucas. Your just too upset to see that right now."

"Can you blame me Brooke? She's the reason I'm like this."

"Lucas I swear to you I didn't know."said Peyton not so much scared now that Brooke was there.

"You expect for me to believe you?"

"Okay this isn't going to work."said Brooke turning to Peyton."You said what you came here to say. You should leave now. I'll talk to Lucas."

"Thank you Brooke"Brooke nodded at her and she walked to the door and out of it, never more happy to get away from Lucas. She had never seen him like this and hoped she never would again.

Once Peyton left Brooke turned to Lucas. She had never seen him act like this. He seemed so angry."Lucas, baby, look at me. You need to calm down. I've never seen you like this. It's kind of scary."

At her words, Lucas calmed himself down. The last thing he wanted was for Brooke to be scared of him. He reached out and pulled her to him for a hug."I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I was just so angry."said Lucas as he held her to him.

Brooke pulled away from him and saw his eyes begin to water. She held his face in her hands."Lucas you have every right to be mad. Nobody will fault you for that, but what you don't have the right to do is to hurt Peyton. You shouldn't have grabbed her like that."

The tears Lucas had been fighting back spilled out. Brooke wiped them away."I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have grabbed her, but she was trying to leave. Do you know that she drugged me?"he then remembered Peyton told him Brooke already knew."Of course you knew. She told me earlier that you knew. How could you not tell me?"he pulled away from her.

"Lucas I found out today just like you. I didn't keep anything from you. Peyton told me earlier and we both decided it was best if she was the one to tell you, so she did and now I'm here. There's no way that I would have known about this and kept it from you. I know how much not knowing who did this to you was killing you, you and your mom."

Lucas nodded._Of course she just found out too. She wouldn't keep a thing like this from him._"I'm sorry, but hey at least we now know who drugged me. Peyton."

Brooke let out a sigh."Lucas she didn't drug you. Yeah, she gave you the alcohol and wanted you to be drunk in order for her stupid plan to work, but she didn't drug you. Stupidity isn't a crime Lucas, she shouldn't have to go to jail for it."

"How do you know she's telling the truth about not knowing? After everything she has done to you, how can you trust her like that?"

"After everything she's done to me? Lucas you've done some pretty shitty things to me too and I trust you. Are you saying that I shouldn't?"

"No, but I never deliberately tried to hurt you."

"Well that's true. Look, the look on her face when she told me about it, told me that she was telling the truth. She was crying and didn't want any of us to hate her. She didn't have to tell us anything at all Lucas, nobody suspected her. She could have kept her mouth shut, but she didn't. Besides she said this was all Rodger's doing and I believe that. Rodger is a bad guy Lucas. He would definitely do something like this if he thought he'd get gratitude from Peyton in the way of sex. I'm sure he thought that when her plan worked she'd be ecstatic and go and personally thank him. He's a disgusting human being. This has him written all over it."

"Who is Rodger and how do you know so much about him?"

Brooke looked over to Lucas and took a deep breath. She had to tell Lucas everything."Okay please don't interrupt me until I'm done or I might never get this out."Lucas nodded, this was the second time he'd heard that today."Well my freshman year Rodger was a Senior. I was friends with his sister Debbie and we would always hang out at her house. Rodger would always be there too and after a while he started to really pay attention to me and it felt good to have a seniors attention. So we started talking. We would talk at his house or on the phone for hours. It was going good, but then one day I went over to their house to hang with Debbie, but she wasn't home. I ended up staying anyways with Rodger. One thing led to another and we started making out. Pretty soon making out wasn't enough for him and he wanted more, but the problem was, I didn't. He wouldn't take no for an answer. I was telling him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. Then thank god Debbie got home. I honestly don't know what would have happened if she wouldn't have come home. I tried to tell her what happened, but he said I was lying and had come on to him. She of course took his side and called me a liar. She has this thing about her friends messing with her brother. If you do, she's no longer your friend. We haven't been friends since. She's on the squad, but we hardly talk. So when Peyton says that this was his doing, I believe her."Brooke hadn't realized she'd started to cry until she felt Lucas wipe away her tears. Reliving that day was harder than she realized.

Lucas held her face in his hands. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. It broke his heart to hear what she had been through. Some guys sure were jerks and he was the worst kind of jerk. The type of jerk that forced himself on girls. He couldn't wait to see this guy."Hey, are you okay?"she nodded."I can't believe you had to go through that. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry Lucas. You had nothing to do with it. It happened a long time ago and I'm over it now, nothing actually happened. What I can't believe is that I said anything at all. The only other person I've ever told was Peyton."

"I'm glad you told me. It shows that you really trust me again. Thank you Brooke."

"I do trust you Lucas."Lucas leaned in and gave her a little kiss on the cheek."You see so I believe that it was him and so should you."

"I don't know. I guess your right. If he could do that to you, then I'm sure he could do this too."

"So your not going to call the police on Peyton?"

"No. I never was. I was just angry at her. I have never been that angry before. It was like I turned into somebody else. I am never going to allow myself to get like that again. I never want you to be scared of me again, especially after what you just told me."

"I don't ever want to be scared of you either, but Lucas I didn't tell you that so you'd treat me differently. Like I said, it happened a long time ago and I'm over it. I want you to continue to treat me the way you normally would."

Lucas smiled at her."I can do that. I can treat you like the person I love the most because that's how I would normally treat you."

Brooke laughed."Now that I can deal with."she leaned in and gave him a kiss."You do know you need to apologize to Peyton right?"

Lucas looked down. He was so ashamed of the way he behaved. It was just that he'd been hoping for over a month that he'd find out who did this to him so he could make their lives miserable, that when Peyton told him it was her, he'd finally found them, and he snapped."Yeah, I know I need to. What she did was unforgivable, but she still didn't deserve me grabbing her like that. I'll apologize to her the next time I see her."

"Good, now enough talk about Rodger and Peyton, how about we get out of here? We have plans to stay at my house remember?"

"How could I forget? I've been looking forward to this since last night. Lets go."Lucas grabbed Brooke's hand and led her out the door.

* * *

_Thank you for the reviews. I really hope you liked this chapter. The reviews have been lacking lately, but I love this story so I'm posting anyways. I am trying to hurry and get this story finished so I can spend more time on my newest story. A lot of people seem to like that one. So I think I'll be posting these chapters a little faster. This story is almost over though. Anyways I hope you liked this chapter. Please let me know what you think. Read and review._

**Coming up:**

A little Naley.

Peyton is in for a huge shock.

Brooke and Lucas watch a movie.


	33. Peyton's Surprise

**Chapter Thirty Three**

_**Peyton's Surprise**_

Nathan pulled up to Haley's house and quickly got out of his car. He was supposed to meet her hours ago, but completely forgot. Once Brooke had drug him out of the cafe his mind was focused on her and only her. He even waited at her house for her when she left to go talk to Peyton and then they sat and watched T.V. for a while, with Haley never crossing his mind. Nathan began to feel really bad. He was being a lousy boyfriend and he knew it. Nathan walked up the pathway to Haley's door and quickly knocked. The door swung open and Haley appeared with a huge frown on her face.

"Where have you been Nathan? You were supposed to be here hours ago. I was worried sick about you."she was happy that he was alright, but furious that he hadn't shown up earlier. Sure they didn't have specific plans and were only going to hang at her house, but still he should have been there.

"I'm really sorry Haley. Some stuff just came up. I should have called you, I know and I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me."

Haley rolled her eyes at him, sure she should still be mad at him, but she wasn't. She could never stay mad at him. It had to be something important for him to stand her up. She opened the door wider for him to enter."So can you at least tell me what was more important than me or is it a secret?"she said with a smile.

Nathan sighed."Haley it wasn't that it was more important than you, nothing is more important to me than you."

"I know. I was just kidding Nathan, but seriously what's going on?"

"Well I guess your gonna find out sooner or later so I might as well tell you now. Peyton is partly to blame for Lucas ending up in the hospital."

"She got him drunk, yeah I already knew that."

"Yeah, but the thing is she brought the Vodka to the party especially for Lucas. She didn't know that it was drugged, but she knew that it had something in it."

"So your saying that she brought the drugged Vodka to the party and purposely gave it to Lucas? How do you know all of this?"

"She told Brooke this morning and Brooke told me. She said she needed my advice."

"So you were with Brooke?"

"Yeah, she didn't know if she should tell Lucas herself or let Peyton do it."

"What did you tell her?"

"To let Peyton do it. Peyton did this so she should be the one to tell Lucas."

"Your right, she should. Did Brooke agree with you?"

"Yeah, she went to talk to Peyton. I waited for her to get back and then we talked. She wants to for give Peyton."

Haley's eyes widened."She does?"

"Yeah, but she doesn't know if she can ever really trust her again."

"That's understandable. Peyton has done some pretty crappy things to Brooke, but then again she's still her best friend and they've been through a lot together. I get that she'd want to forgive her too."

"I just don't know if she should. I mean, I told her whatever she decided to do I'd be there for her, but I really don't know if she should."

"Well it's her decision to make Nathan."

"I know. It's just that she's been hurt so much. I don't want her to get hurt again."

"I don't want that either, but if it happens, we'll be here for her."

"Yeah, we will."said Nathan.

* * *

Peyton stopped outside of Debbie's house. She didn't know why she was there. They weren't even that close. She just didn't want to go home to an empty house. She needed someone to talk to. Peyton thought about calling Jake, but decided against it. She'd been relying on him too much lately and that needed to stop. He didn't need to hear her problems. Jake had enough of his own problems to worry about and then there was the kiss. It had been great. She'd never been kissed that way before, not even by Lucas, the person she thought she loved. There was just something about Jake. He made her feel safe. He made her feel like everything was going to work out. He sure was something special. She just didn't know if that kiss was out of pity or because he actually liked her. It was all too scary. The last time she thought she felt this way about someone, he ended up being in love with her best friend. No, there was no way she could call Jake. She just wasn't ready to take that risk. What if he decided he wanted someone else like Lucas had? She couldn't go through that again. 

Peyton made her way to Debbie's door. Sure she wouldn't talk to Debbie about all of this, but Debbie would distract her from everything that was going on. She knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

Once Debbie answered the door her face grew into a scowl. That was the last thing she thought would happen. They were friends after all.

"What are you doing here Peyton?"

"Nothing I just thought we could hang. Some stuff has been going on and I need a distraction."said Peyton with a sigh.

"What? You couldn't get a hold of my brother? He seemed to be a pretty good distraction for you last night."

Peyton looked at her confused."What are you talking about? I wasn't with Rodger last night."

Debbie shook her head."Don't you dare stand there and try to lie to me. I saw you with him last night at the party."

"I don't know what you _think _you saw, but I wasn't with your brother Debbie. I don't even like him. In fact I can't stand him, so there's no way I was with him last night."

"Well you didn't seem to mind making out with him last night."

"I made out with Rodger?"Peyton shook her head."No, I couldn't have been that drunk."

"That's exactly what I said. You weren't drinking last night. I only saw you with that one drink we got together. You did what you did with my brother sober."

"That's impossible. I don't even remember being with Rodger last night."

"I bet you remember leaving with him though."said Debbie coldly.

"I left with him?"asked Peyton, now really confused. This was starting to get scary. She had left with a guy who was a major creep and couldn't remember anything. _If she left with Rodger, then how did she end up at Brooke's?_

"Of course you left with him. I saw you two all over each other as you left the party."said Debbie making a face."It was disgusting. You know I don't like my friends messing with my brother."

"I know that Debbie. I don't know what's going on. I can't remember a damn thing about last night. Your brother must have slipped me something."that had to be it. He must have given her what he gave her to give to Lucas. That would explain her not remembering, her feeling drunk and her being with Rodger. There was no other way she'd be with him after what he did to Brooke.

"Oh don't you dare try and cry rape like your slutty friend Brooke. It won't work. My brother doesn't have to force himself on or drug anyone. You two are unbelievable."

"I don't care what you believe. Brooke didn't lie about your brother back then. He is that sick and I wasn't with you brother last night willingly. Is he here? I need to talk to him."

"He's not here, but even if he was I wouldn't let you talk to him. Now get the hell out of here."Debbie slammed the door.

Peyton stood there stunned. She had no idea she had been with Rodger last night. She couldn't remember a thing. She figured she had just drank too much, but then again she didn't think she had drank at all. _Did she sleep with him? Did he dump her at Brooke's when he was done with her? _This must have been her punishment for everything she did to Brooke and Lucas. Maybe she deserved everything that had happened to her last night. No, no matter what she'd done, she didn't deserve someone sleeping with her while she was drugged, just thinking about that happening to her brought tears to her eyes.

Peyton quickly made her way to her car. _What was happening to her? What was happening to her life? How could she ever get passed not knowing what happened last night?_ This must have been how Lucas felt, not remembering what happened, having to rely on someone to tell you what happened. She suddenly felt sick. She had been the one to help Lucas feel like this._ No wonder Lucas hated her so much. _Peyton turned on her car and drove away, not knowing where to go.

* * *

Brooke pulled Lucas into her house. Finally they were going to get to spend some time together and no one was going to have to leave at the end."So what do you want to do?"asked Brooke wriggling her eyebrows. She knew what she wanted to do. 

Lucas looked at her and smiled. He knew what Brooke wanted to do and to be honest, he wouldn't mind doing that too, but he couldn't get passed what she had told him earlier about Rodger. That guy had hurt her and would have done more if his sister wouldn't have come home. Now as much as he wanted to _be_ with Brooke, he wanted to hold her in his arms and make her feel safe more. Maybe she had gotten over this, seeing how it had happened years ago, but to him it was new and he wanted more than anything to just protect her. Lucas wrapped his arm around her waist."How about we just watch a movie?"

Brooke frowned."Watch a movie? What fun is that?"asked Brooke with a smile.

"Hey, watching a movie is a lot of fun. We can lie down, I can wrap my arms, well_ arm."_he said pointing to his still broken arm Around you and hold you tight and we can just _be _together."

Brooke smiled at him."Your wonderful, you know that Broody? That actually does sound like fun. I love being in your arms, well _arm_."laughed Brooke mimicking his earlier statement.

Lucas smiled back at Brooke."Well I love having you in my arms."

"That's good to know."Brooke pulled the arm that was still around her tighter around her."So since we've decided what we are going to do, we need to decide what we are going to watch. Now I vote for the Notebook. It is by far the best love story ever told."

Lucas groaned."I should have known you'd pick a sappy movie like that. I change my mind, lets make out instead."said Lucas trying to kiss Brooke.

Brooke quickly got out of Lucas' hold."No, you said watch a movie and now that's what I want to do."

"Okay, well is it too much to ask for a guy to have a girlfriend that likes action movies?"

Brooke shook her head."No, it's not too much to ask, but unfortunately your not lucky enough to have one. Now come on Lucas, the Notebook is a really good movie. Noah is so sweet and hey, it has Rachel McAdams in it. She's pretty hot, that's a plus for you right?"said Brooke with a shrug, hoping she was winning him over. She really wanted to see that movie again.

Lucas shook his head at her. This was typical Brooke, trying to sway his decision, by throwing a hot girl at him._ Didn't she know he'd have the hottest girl in his arms?_ He didn't need to see one on T.V."Brooke..."

"Oh, come on Lucas. Please. Please,please, please."she pleaded.

Lucas looked into her pleading eyes. _How could he deny her anything?_ He knew he was going to watch that movie from the moment she had mentioned it, it was just fun making her work for it."Okay, we can watch that movie, but you owe me."

Brooke rolled her eyes. She knew they were going to watch that movie from the second she mentioned it, it was just fun letting Lucas _think_ he had a choice."Fine, we can watch a movie that you pick next."

"I'm gonna hold you to that. Now go make us some popcorn."said Lucas as he swatted her behind. Brooke turned to face him, giving him a smile before walking into the kitchen._ Man he loved that girl._ He thanked God everyday for her forgiving him.

* * *

Brooke lied there on the couch still in Lucas' arms as she watched the ending credits roll and wiped away a few tears. 

"I can't believe your actually crying Brooke."said Lucas shaking his head."It's just a movie. They aren't real."

Brooke turned from her position and now faced him."You can't seriously sit there and be that insensitive Lucas. Did you not get the movie? The whole thing was sad. They loved each other so much and couldn't be together in life because of her disease, so they went to be together in death."said Brooke wiping away fresh tears."They died holding and loving each other, now that is sad."

Lucas rolled his eyes."I'm not saying it isn't sad. I actually liked the movie, I'm just saying it's just a movie."

"That is such a guy thing to say."

Lucas shrugged."Well I am a guy."he pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arm around her."And this _guy_ loves you."he kissed the tip of her nose.

Brooke could help but blush. He was always doing things like this, saying the sweetest things when she least expected him to or when they were having an argument and she loved it when he kissed her nose."Well I love you too, more now because you sat through the whole movie without complaining. I seriously can't believe you didn't complain once."

Lucas smiled."Well I knew you wanted to watch the movie, why would I ruin it for you? Now I expect the same courtesy from you when we watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

"Absolutely not. I refuse Lucas. You can pick any other movie and we can watch it, but I refuse to watch any movie with that home wreaking whore in it."

Lucas had to laugh. She seemed really serious."What are you talking about Brooke?"

Brooke gave him a look."What am I talking about? Where have you been? She is the reason why Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt are no longer together. They were the perfect couple and she ruined it."fumed Brooke shaking her head. She had been so upset when she heard Jennifer and Brad were splitting up. She absolutely adored them.

Lucas continued to laugh. This was hilarious. Brooke was really upset by this."Brooke, baby, calm down."Lucas rubbed her back."It's not her fault they broke up. Nothing happened with them while he was with Jennifer and besides you can't only be mad at her. It takes two people to cheat, you know that."Lucas suddenly realized what he said and regretted it.

"Of course I know that Lucas. How could I forget."Brooke turned away from him and tried to get up, but he wouldn't let her.

Lucas felt her try to get up and held her firmly to him. The last thing they both needed was to drop this and move on. They needed to talk about it. Lucas placed his fingers on her chin and turned her back to face him."I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything I did to you Brooke. I love you so much. I hate that it took me doing something that stupid to realize it. There is no way I would do anything like that to you again. You mean too much to me. I don't want you to ever forget that."

Brooke smiled at him."I know that Lucas and I love you too. You don't have to keep saying your sorry. I know that you are and I know that you would never do anything like that to me again."Lucas leaned in and kissed her. She quickly pulled away."But we're still not watching that movie."said Brooke with a laugh. He had to laugh too.

Their laughter stopped when they heard the front door open and close. Suddenly Peyton walked into the living room with tears streaming down her face."I'm sorry to interrupt, but Brooke I need you."

* * *

_Thank you for the reviews. Here is the next chapter. I hoped you liked it. I've been on a Peyton kick lately, you can thank Ali213 and her story Under Your skin for that. I am not a big Peyton fan, but I am loving her in that story and I'm finding myself wanting to redeem her in mine.lol. Now when I was writing this chapter I had just finished watching The Notebook again, so I had to put it in here. I hoped you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think.I might have the next chapter up tomorrow. I'm really trying to post as much as I can. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks._

**Coming Up:**

Brooke and Peyton talk.

Brooke helps Peyton.

Pretty much nothing but Brooke and Peyton in this chapter.


	34. Worst Day Of My Life

_Here is another chapter. I am on a roll.lol I hope you like it. It's a little short, but I needed to end it here, sorry. Anyways here's the next chapter. It's a Brooke and Peyton filled one. Thanks._

**Chapter Thirty Four**

**_Worst Day Of My Life_**

_Suddenly Peyton walked into the living room with tears streaming down her face."I'm sorry to interrupt, but Brooke I need you."_

Brooke quickly got up from her position on top of Lucas and ran over to Peyton."Peyt what is it? Are you okay?"Brooke didn't know what she was doing or what this meant to their friendship. She was just doing what came naturally, doing whatever she could to help Peyton.

Peyton continued to cry."I really need to talk to you."she turned to Lucas."Alone. Please."Peyton saw Brooke also turn to Lucas hesitantly."Look, I know you don't owe me anything, neither of you do, but I don't know what to do. I didn't know where else to go. Your the only one I knew I could come to with this. Please don't make me leave."said Peyton through sobs.

Brooke too found herself near tears. She hadn't seen Peyton like this since they were little and her mom died. Sure she had seen Peyton cry a lot lately, but it was nothing like she was now. She was about hysterical now. Brooke turned to Lucas."Can you give us some time alone please. I need to find out what's going on."

Lucas looked between the two girls who both had tears in their eyes. He himself wondered what was going on, but knew this was none of his business and they'd let him know if they wanted him to know.."Yeah, sure. Do you want me to go upstairs or something?"

Brooke shook her head."No, this might take a while. Why don't you go home and I'll just call you later."she said with a half smile. The last thing she wanted was to send Lucas home. They were supposed to spend the rest of the day and night together without interruptions, but obviously that wasn't going to happen now.

Lucas nodded."Okay. Don't forget to call me though. I'll be waiting."he walked over to Brooke and gave her a quick kiss before leaving. He thought about apologizing to Peyton for the way he acted earlier, but felt that the time wasn't right. He'd have to do it later.

Brooke turned to Peyton."What's wrong? What happened to you? It's been a long time since I've seen you like this."

"Karma. That's what happened to me."

Brooke looked at her confused."Peyton sweetie, your gonna have to give me more than that."said Brooke with a slight smile, wanting to lighten the mood if she could.

"Last night I got payback for every horrible thing I did to you and Lucas."

"What are you talking about?"Brooke waited for an answer, but all she got was more tears from Peyton. Brooke grabbed Peyton's hands and led her over to the couch."Peyton your gonna have to actually tell me what going on if you want me to help you."

"Rodger drugged me last night and I can't remember a thing. What is wrong with me? Do I have a sign somewhere on me that says 'Easy Target'? This is the second time this has happened to me. Am I that stupid that guys think they can do this to me and get away with it?"

Brooke couldn't believe what she had just heard. Rodger, the slime, who had tried to hurt_ her_, had now drugged Peyton and she was blaming herself."Peyton your not stupid and this isn't your fault, but what exactly are you talking about?"she hoped that for Peyton's sake she was wrong.

"I don't remember anything about last night Brooke."

"Well that's understandable, you were really drunk."

Peyton shook her head."No, I remember only having one drink. There is no way I was drunk. Lucas doesn't remember anything from the night of his accident because he was drugged. That's also why I don't remember."

"I don't get it. If you can't remember anything, then how do you know he drugged you?"she wanted to help Peyton, but first she needed to understand herself.

Peyton wiped away her tears and looked at Brooke. She had expected Brooke to kick her out, especially since she looked like she was busy with Lucas when she came in, but she didn't and now as Peyton looked at her she expected to see anger, but she didn't, all she saw was sadness and concern."Okay, well after I left Lucas' I went to Debbie's. I didn't feel like going home. When Debbie opened the door she was furious at me. I didn't know why. That's when she told me about seeing me with Rodger. She said she saw us kissing and that I left with him. Brooke I swear I don't remember kissing him or leaving with him and I know I wasn't drunk."

"Did he make you a drink?"

Peyton shook her head."Not that I remember. He might have after I was out of it."

"Well did you set your own drink down at any time?"

"Only when I went to use the restroom."

"Why didn't you take your drink with you?"

Peyton shrugged."I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. I guess I just didn't expect for something like this to happen."

Brooke placed her hands on top of Peyton's and held them tight. She really wanted to pull Peyton to her and hold her, but she couldn't bring herself to. She wasn't ready for anything other than this, so for now this would have to do."So Debbie said she saw you two leave together?"

"Yes, she said we were all over each other. I think he was probably holding me up since I bet I was out of it."

Brooke hated to have to ask her next question, but knew she had to."Do you feel like you had sex last night?"

"I don't know. I have no idea if anything happened last night and that's the worst part. How am I supposed to move on without knowing what happened?"

Brooke wiped away a few tears that had fallen. She knew Peyton must be feeling horrible, not knowing what happened. It had to worse knowing that Rodger didn't have a problem sleeping with a girl who didn't want to."You know what Rodgers capable of."Peyton nodded. Brooke stood up and pulled Peyton up with her."Come on lets go."

"Where are we going?"

"To the hospital, you need to get checked."

Peyton pulled away from Brooke."I don't want to go. I don't need to know."

"That's not true and you know it. You just said not knowing was the worst part and you couldn't move on not knowing."

"But I'm scared."cried Peyton.

"Don't be. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Now lets go. We need to do this."Brooke pulled herself and Peyton through the door.

* * *

Brooke and Peyton waited in the hospital exam room for the doctor. Things were still a little awkward for them."Are you okay Peyt? Your pretty quiet." 

"I'm fine."said Peyton looking up at the ceiling from her bed."I was just trying to make things easier for you, you know, being quiet so you don't have to put up with me. I know I'm the last person you want to be spending the day with, especially seeing how I barged in on you and Lucas earlier."

"That's not true, well it kinda is, but can you blame me? Peyton you have been awful to me for almost two months, hell longer if you count all the time I didn't know about you and Lucas."

"I know and I hate myself for that. I have been the worst kind of friend and what makes me feel even worse, if that's possible, is that even though I have done nothing but hurt you, your still here with me now. Your still helping me out on the worst day of my life, when I was the one that made the worst day of your life possible."

Brooke shook her head."Finding out about you and Lucas wasn't the worst day of my life, it was a close second, followed by finding out about Lucas' accident."rambled Brooke."The worst day of my life was all Rodger's doing. When I was with him I didn't know what was going to happen. He wouldn't stop when I asked him to. I have never been more scared in my life and you were there for me through it all. Now it's only fair that I'm here with you now. I just hate that Rodger hurt you like that too."

"It's my fault Brooke. I shouldn't have gotten involved with him in the first place."

"No, this isn't your fault Peyton. Yeah, you never should have gotten involved with him, but Rodger is a sick and twisted guy. I swear when I told Luke about what he did to me, he looked like he wanted to kill him."

"You told Lucas?"asked Peyton surprised. Brooke had told her a long time ago that she would be the only one she ever told about that because she didn't think that anyone would believe her, but now she had told Lucas.

Brooke nodded."He was so sweet afterward."she smiled at the memory.

"You really do love him, don't you?"Brooke again nodded and looked away."Which makes everything I did to you that much more unforgivable. I am truly sorry Brooke. Having done what I did to you and having you still be here with me now in spite of it, makes me see that you are the best person I know and I need you in my life. I hope that in time you are able to forgive me, even if I can't forgive myself."said Peyton wiping away a few stray tears.

Brooke too had to wipe away a few tears. Peyton really seemed sincere and she wanted more than anything to take Peyton into her arms and tell her she forgave her, but she couldn't, not now at least. She wasn't ready for that yet, right now all she could do was be here for her. Not knowing what to say, Brooke changed the subject."So Lucas is really sorry for this afternoon. He knows he shouldn't have grabbed you and he hates himself for it. He's gonna apologize for it later."

"He doesn't have to. After everything I did to him, he's the last one that needs to say their sorry."

"Yeah, well even so, he still is. He doesn't usually get that angry. He now knows that everything is Rodger's doing. I think Rodger was so eager to help you get Lucas because of me. I'm not trying to sound like I think everything is about me, but that's what I believe. I think that he is still mad that nothing happened with us and wants me to suffer for it. He doesn't want me to have anyone. He is that sick and twisted and he used you Peyton."

"Brooke I know you hate him, hell I hate him, but that isn't necessarily true. I was the one talking to Debbie about what I could do to keep you and Lucas apart. It was all me, he just helped me with it, that's all. I don't want you to shift all the blame on him, it was me too."

"I know that. I just don't want to hate you as much and I know Rodger."

"Brooke do you think you could ever forgive me?"Peyton felt herself holding her breath, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know. It doesn't feel like it sometimes, but then I start to miss my best friend and I find myself wanting to go to your house and talk, but then I remember everything you did and I have to stop myself. So I don't know, I guess we're just going to have to find out in time."

Peyton was about to say something when the door opened and the doctor walked in."Hi, I'm Dr. Thomas. What exactly are we doing today?"she turned to Peyton who was lying on the bed.

Peyton opened her mouth and tried to speak, but nothing came out. Talking about this to someone other than Brooke was a lot harder than she though it was going to be.

Brooke saw that Peyton needed help and spoke up."Well she's here because she thinks she was drugged last night."

"Is that so?"asked the doctor.

Peyton nodded.

"So I brought her here to get checked, to see if there is any way you can tell if she had sex last night and to see if there are any drugs in her system."

The doctor nodded."You seem like a really great friend to be doing all this."Brooke smiled."So..."the doctor looked over her chart."Ms. Sawyer, I don't know if we can do anything to see if sexual intercourse occurred last night. When was the last time you had intercourse?"

"God, I don't remember. It was Nathan. Five or six months ago, maybe."

"Oh."said the doctor a little surprised."Well then there might be something we can do after all. Let me get my gloves on and we'll start the examination. We should probably do the blood work first though."said the doctor writing something down on Peyton's chart.

Brooke got up from her seat."Well I'm going to wait out in the waiting room."

"No, Brooke you don't have to go. You can stay."said Peyton.

"Yeah, but I should really call Lucas. I said I would remember? I'll just be right outside."Brooke turned to the doctor."Will you please let me know when your done so I can come back in?"

"I sure will."

Brooke smiled at her and then at Peyton before walking out. She opened her purse and started to search for her phone. It wasn't in there. She remembered placing it down on the kitchen counter when she went to make popcorn earlier."Shit. Well I guess your just gonna have to wait Broody."said Brooke out loud.

_Thanks for all the reviews. I know this chapter was short and not much happened , but I thought this was necessary for their friendship, if there's still one.Let me know what you think about Brooke and Peyton talking. Is it believable? Would Brooke ever talk to Peyton after everything she did? This was a very hard chapter for me to write. I wanted to show that Peyton was truly sorry for everything she did and now realizes what she's lost. I also wanted to show that Brooke misses her best friend and wants to forgive her, but she can't really do that yet, because of everything that happened, but she's still a great friend. I hope that's what came across to you all. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks. _


	35. What is Charlie Gonna Think?

**Chapter Thirty Five**

_**What is Charlie gonna think?**_

Lucas sat in his room waiting for the phone to ring. He was curious as to what was going on with Brooke and Peyton. He looked at his watch and saw that it had been over an hour and a half since he left Brooke's house. He was becoming anxious. Sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring was becoming tiresome so he needed something to do, especially since it didn't look like Brooke would be calling anytime soon. Lucas grabbed his mom's car keys and after making sure he had his phone he made his way out the door and to Haley's house.

He felt like he hadn't been spending much time with her. Lately it had been only him and Brooke. They were spending a lot of time together, probably to make up for the time they were apart, even though they weren't really apart for that long. It had just felt like forever, so he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, but now he was realizing that he needed Haley too. He really needed to talk to her. She probably had no idea what was going on. He needed to let everything out. Sure he had talked to Brooke and she had been great, but he couldn't really talk to her about the Peyton stuff because even though the weren't really talking they were still best friends and obviously nothing could come between those two. He knew that now after having Brooke make him leave so she could be with Peyton. He wasn't complaining or anything, Peyton seemed pretty upset and looked like she really needed someone. Brooke being the great person she was, was willing to be that someone even after everything that had happened, but he needed someone too. He needed his best friend. She would understand and let him get everything out. Yep, he definitely needed Haley.

Lucas got out of his car and walked up to Haley's door and let himself in as he always had."Haley? You here?"shouted Lucas after seeing that she wasn't downstairs.

"Yeah, just a second."Haley came down the stairs and stopped in front of him."Sorry. I was just organizing my closet. I was bored after Nathan left. What's up?"

Lucas sighed."Well a lot of stuff is going on right now. I just found out something huge and needed someone to talk to."

"Okay, well I'm here. Is this about Peyton?"

Lucas gave her a look."How do you know about that?"

"Nathan told me. He was with Brooke when he was supposed to be here and it just slipped out in his explanation."

"So let me get this straight, Peyton told Brooke, Brooke told Nathan, Nathan told you, and then they told me? What the hell is that about? I should have been the first one to know, but no, everyone knew before me."

"Don't be upset with Brooke, she only told Nathan because she needed his advice. She wasn't sure if she or Peyton should be the one to tell you. They of course went with Peyton since it was her doing."

"Yeah, can you believe what she did? I mean I know she _says_ that she didn't know, but how do I know that for sure? She's done a lot of lying lately. How do I know this isn't another lie? I can't be as trusting of her as Brooke is."

"So Brooke does believe her?"asked Haley walking into the living room and sitting down.

Lucas followed her and also sat down."Yes. She believes her. It's not that I exactly think she's lying. It's just that I don't know for sure. Brooke just seems convinced though."

"Well have you talked to Brooke about this?"

Lucas shook his head."No. I told her that if she thinks that Peyton is telling the truth, then so do I."

"So you lied to her?"

"No, not exactly. I guess I know deep down inside that Peyton is telling the truth, but she admitted to knowing something was in that Vodka. She was willing to do anything to make sure her plan to keep me away from Brooke worked. How am I supposed to just get over that?"

"Your not."

"But Brooke did."cut in Lucas.

"No, she didn't. Brooke didn't just get over it Lucas. She's been battling with her feelings toward Peyton for a while now. You have to realize that they have been best friends for a really long time. That doesn't just go away because one of them does something stupid. They will be mad at each other for a while, but eventually they'll get over it and make up. They really shouldn't let a guy, even if that guy is you, come between them. Them staying friends after all of this just goes to show they have a really strong friendship. I kind of envy them a little."

"So you don't think it's weird that Brooke wants to talk to her again?"

"No I don't. I'd think it was weird if Brooke was able to cut Peyton out of her life without thinking twice about it."

"Brooke's too good of a person to do something like that."

"Exactly."

"Which brings me to something else I found out today."

"What?"asked Haley.

"Okay if I tell you, you have to promise not to say anything. Brooke told me this and I don't know if she wants anyone else to know. I just need some advice. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"This sounds pretty serious. I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Okay well I guess I should start off by saying I know who drugged me."

"Who was it?"Haley knew Peyton's part in it, but she still hadn't said who actually gave it to her.

"I don't know who he is, but his name is Rodger. He's the brother of one of the cheerleaders."

"So Peyton gave you a name?"

"Yeah and Brooke believes her because she knows the guy. She has a past with him."

"What does that mean? Did they used to go out?"

"Not exactly. They talked for a while when she was a freshman and he was a senior."

"So he's older then us?"cut in Haley.

"Yeah, well one day Brooke went over to that guys house to talk to his sister, they were friends, but she wasn't home and he ended up trying to force her to sleep with him. Nothing actually happened because the sister came home, but it was close."Lucas closed his eyes and shook his head. He felt himself getting angry all over again. He hated having to repeat that, but he knew he needed to talk it out so he could get passed everything he was feeling. Brooke needed that from him and he needed that too.

Haley covered her mouth with her hand. She couldn't believe Brooke had to go through something like that. It must have been awful."Oh god Lucas. She must have been so scared. Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she seems okay. This happened to her like 2 or 3 years ago. I think she's over it, at least she seems that way, but for me it's all new. I just found out about it and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Am I supposed to find the guy and beat the hell out of him? Am I supposed to treat Brooke differently now? Earlier she wanted to..."Lucas trailed off not knowing exactly how to say this to Haley."Well do stuff, but I couldn't. I didn't think it was right after what she just told me. She seemed fine with us kissing and stuff, but all I wanted to do was hold her and make sure she was safe. Was that wrong? Am I being stupid about this whole thing?"

"No, your definitely not being stupid Lucas. Your having the normal reaction a boyfriend should have when hearing something like that happened to his girlfriend. The thing is, it didn't just happen. Brooke has probably worked through all of this. It's not something she'll ever forget, but I'm sure it doesn't hurt or scare her like it used to. So my advice to you would be to be yourself, act the way you two always have. She didn't have a problem with it before she told you so she's not gonna have a problem with it now. The only difference with you two is that now you know she truly trusts you. That is a huge step for her to take after what you did to her Lucas."

"I know and I'm happy about that. So your saying just be myself, right?"

"Yes. I bet that's what Brooke wants."

"So should I go and beat the crap out of that guy? If not because of what he tried to do to Brooke, then because of what he did to me?"

Haley shook her head."Lucas, what is beating him up gonna do?"

Lucas shrugged."Nothing I guess, but it sure as hell would feel good."

"Yeah, for a while, but then what? Brooke would be worried if she thought you wanted to go after that guy."

"Your right. I guess everything is in the past. I don't feel comfortable letting it go, but I will."

"Maybe you should talk to Brooke about how your feeling."said Haley.

"Maybe I should."

"Good. You should find her and talk to her now."

"I can't. She's with Peyton right now."

"So they're like hanging out? I knew she was thinking about forgiving her, but I didn't think she was ready to hang out with her."

"They aren't hanging out. Peyton showed up at Brooke's house earlier crying and Brooke wanted to find out what was going on."

"Is everything okay with Peyton?"

"I don't know. Brooke was supposed to call me, but she hasn't."he looked at his watch."She's been with Peyton for more than two hours now. She should have called me by now."

"Well have you tried calling her?"

"No, she said she would call me. I don't want to seem overly eager to talk to her or bug her."

"But you are overly eager Lucas."said Haley with a laugh.

"Yeah, but she doesn't have to know that."

"Just call her and say you wanted to make sure she was okay. She'll think your sweet. Now hurry up, you know you want to."

Lucas pulled out his phone. Haley was right, he definitely wanted to. He quickly dialed her number and listened as it rang and rang, then went to voice mail. He decided to leave her a message."Hey baby, it's me. I was waiting for you to call and check in, but you haven't, so I decided to check on you. I hope your okay. Call me when you get this. I love you. Bye."he shut his phone."She didn't answer."

"I know. She's probably still busy with Peyton. You said she was crying earlier, right?"

"Yeah, she was almost hysterical. I just hope it didn't have anything to do with what I did to her."

"What did you do to her?"asked Haley wondering what it could be.

"Well after she told me her part in my accident she tried to leave, but I was so upset and I stopped her by grabbing her by the arm. She tried to get away from me, but I wouldn't let her. Brooke had to pry her away from me. It was pretty bad."

"That sounds awful."

"It was. Brooke wants me to apologize to her and I was going to even before she said to. I just hope that's not what had her so upset."

"I don't think it was. For her to be hysterical it had to be worse than you grabbing her."

"Your right. I just wish I knew what was going on."

"I'm sure Brooke will tell you if she can."

"I just hope she calls me soon."Lucas looked down at his phone as it rang."Maybe it's her."he answered."Hello? Oh, hey mom. No, I'm just at Haley's. Are you serious? Yeah, sure I'll be there. I'll leave right now. Okay. Bye."he hung up."That was my mom. She said a friend of hers is in town and wants to check out my shoulder. He specializes in this stuff. I have to go, but I'll call you later."Lucas leaned in and gave her a hug."Thanks for listening. I really needed this right now."

"Any time. Bye Luke."

* * *

Brooke sat in a chair next to Peyton's hospital bed. They again were waiting for the doctor to come, but this time she'd be bring the test results with her. 

"What is taking so long? We've been waiting here for forever."Brooke pulled herself out of her seat, getting restless she began to walk around the tiny room snooping through all the drawers.

"If you want you can leave Brooke. You've already done more than I deserve."said Peyton hoping with everything that Brooke wouldn't actually leave. She needed her there when the doctor came back with the results, but if Brooke wanted to leave she wasn't going to make her feel guilty for it.

Brooke stopped her searching and looked at Peyton."Look, I'm not going anywhere. Whether your willing to admit it, you need me and I'm gonna be here for you. Whatever happens with us after we leave here, happens, but until then I'm here. So stop saying I can leave because I'm not."

Peyton smiled at her."Thanks Brooke. I was hoping you would say that."

"No problem, now be quiet so I can go back to my snooping."she turned around and continued to look through drawers."This is a very expensive hospital, you'd think they'd have some stuff worth stealing in here."she reached for the last drawer and found that it was locked."Ooh, jackpot! Peyt do you have something I could pick this lock with?"asked Brooke turning to face her.

Peyton looked at her like she was crazy."No, I'm sorry Brooke, but I think I left my lock picking tools in my other purse."said Peyton with a laugh.

"Damn it Peyton. Didn't I tell you to always keep it with you for emergencies like this? What is Charlie gonna think?"

"I don't know, maybe that we're no angels."at that they both started to laugh.

The door opened and they turned to see the doctor walk in.

"Well it's good to see you you laughing Ms. Sawyer. How are you feeling?"asked the doctor.

"Better thanks to Brooke."said Peyton with a smile.

"Yeah, I have a knack for making everybody feel better."

"That's good. So I have the test results back from the lab."she looked them over."I'm afraid I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you prefer to hear first? I'm also assuming your okay with your friend staying. Is that correct?"

"Yes, I want her here."

"Very well. So what will it be, good or bad?"

"Good."said both Brooke and Peyton. Normally they both would have burst into laughter at saying the same thing at the same time, but this was too serious.

"Okay. Well the good news is that we find no evidence that sexual intercourse of any kind took place last night. Though we can't be 100 percent sure since you've been sexually active in the past, but I think it's safe to say nothing happened."

Peyton and Brooke both let out the breath they were holding. This was what they were hoping for, but they still had the bad news to hear.

"Okay, what's the bad news?"asked Peyton.

"Well the other results came back positive. There was definitely drugs in your system. To be specific, Xanax."

Brooke shook her head. That was the same thing they found in Lucas."That son of a bitch."

"Wait, do you two know who did this?"asked the doctor.

"Yes."said Peyton.

"But we have no proof."said Brooke.

"You should still go to the police. Let them investigate. Even if there is no evidence, maybe the police will scare the person who did this into never doing it again."

"Maybe she's right Peyton. We could go and tell them about what he did to me, Lucas and now you. He needs to be stopped."

"Please listen to your friend Ms. Sawyer. This is a serious matter. It seems to me after what your friend just said, this person has done this before."

"Yes. He drugged my boyfriend over a month and a half ago and he ended up in a serious car accident, not to mention what he did to me, but I don't want to get into that."said Brooke.

"Oh my. I can't make you all go to the police, I can only tell you, you should. Now Ms. Sawyer, I advise you to get some rest. Make sure you stay hydrated. I think we are done here if there isn't any questions."they both shook their heads."Okay, well you can get dressed now and please talk to the police."the doctor left the room.

Brooke turned to Peyton."She's right. We need to go to the police. He has hurt all of us and he needs to be stopped."

"It's my word against his. Nobody is going to believe me. We both know there's no way Debbie will say a word against her brother."

"I know and you might be right about nobody believing you, but like Dr. Thomas said maybe they will scare him enough to where he stops."

"I don't know. You'll come with me?"

"Of course I will and even though it was a long time ago, I'll tell them what he did to me. I'm not sure what it will do, but I'll still tell them."

Peyton finished dressing and grabbed her purse."Okay, lets go."

Brooke nodded and they both walked out together.

* * *

_Thanks for all the reviews. They mean everything to me. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry about the wait. I had a few ideas on how __I wanted to end this story and I wanted to write them all down before I forgot. I put some Lucas and Haley in this chapter because like a few of you pointed out they haven't really spent anytime together. I hope this makes up for that.lol. Now I have to say that this story is almost finished. There are only two chapters left. Please let me know what you think. Read and review. Thanks._

**Coming Up:**

Lucas and Peyton talk.

Lucas gives Brooke some good news.


	36. Early Morning News

**Chapter Thirty Six**

_**Early Morning News**_

Brooke awoke early the next morning next to Peyton. She turned and saw Peyton was still asleep. She didn't know what they were doing or if this made them friends again, but Peyton had stayed over last night and it wasn't the least bit awkward. Neither of them wanted to be alone after spending hours talking to the police about that jerk, Rodger. The police said that they didn't have any real proof so there wasn't much they could do. They did however say that they would get a search warrant and search all his belonging. If they found Xanax or any other drug, they would bring him in. They were a little discouraged by what the police said, but hoped they would find something to bring him in on.

Brooke and Peyton got home a little after midnight and were completely exhausted. They both fell asleep almost instantly. Now it was morning and they needed to get ready for school.

Brooke nudged Peyton."Hey, are you awake?"she asked.

"I am now."growled Peyton.

"Good. It's time to get up. We have school."

"Can't I just stay here? I don't feel like going today."

"Neither do I, but we still have to go."

"Why? So people can look at me like I'm trash and so they can look at you like your crazy for talking to me again? That is, if your going to talk to me."said Peyton looking away.

"Of course I'm going to talk to you. I'm not ready to be best friends again, but I do know I no longer want to be enemies. We can go from there."

"Okay."Peyton smiled."Well if I have to go to school then I'm gonna have to borrow some clothes. Is that okay? I didn't bring anything with me last night."

"Sure go ahead. You know where everything is. I'm just going to go take a quick shower. I'll be out soon."Brooke grabbed her robe and headed to the restroom closing the door behind her.

Peyton stayed in bed for a few more minutes before getting up out of bed. She went straight to Brooke's closet, opting for no shower this morning. She found a pair of jeans and a tank top and quickly undressed. Peyton pulled on the jeans and turned around to pick up the shirt she placed on the bed when the door swung open. Peyton stood shirtless in front of Lucas.

Lucas quickly closed his eyes."Oh shit. Sorry. I'll wait outside until your dressed."Lucas started to back up.

"No need. I'm already done."said Peyton.

Lucas slowly opened his eyes and saw she was now fully dressed."Look I'm sorry about that. I didn't know you were here and normally it isn't a big deal when I don't knock."said Lucas still a little shaken up from what he had seen. Sure it wasn't anything, but with their history, he wasn't supposed to be seeing her like that."So where is Brooke?"

"She's in the shower. If you want, you can walk in there too without knocking."said Peyton with a laugh."You'd get a better show."

"Come on. It was an accident."

"I know. I was just trying to give you a hard time. It was pretty fun."

"Oh really. Thanks."said Lucas rolling his eyes. This was weird. He was talking to Peyton and there was no hostility.

The room grew quiet for a few minutes until they both couldn't take it."I'm sorry."said both at the same time.

They both let out an awkward laugh.

"Can I please go first Lucas?"he nodded so she continued."I'm sorry Lucas. I know you probably hate me and you have every right to. I know I've said this before, but what I did was completely unforgivable. I just want you to know that even if you don't believe me and think I'm the most selfish person in the world, I am still sorry. You don't have to worry about me doing anything to try and break you and Brooke up. She is the best person I know and I will never do anything to hurt her again. You have my word on that. All I'm going to do from now on is try and make things up to her, you too if you let me. I have missed Brooke so much this past month and a half, hell I've missed all of my friends, you, Haley, and Nathan. I did a lot of stupid things and now I'm going to try my hardest to fix them all."

Lucas looked at her closely as she said all of that. She seemed to really mean it."Well I hope you can fix everything Peyton. You need to know, though, that it's not gonna happen over night. Everybody isn't going to forgive you right away. Some of us might never forgive you. I do hope for your sake and Brooke's, that she can forgive you. I think you both really need each other. As for me, I don't know. As long as Brooke is happy, I am happy."

"Okay, I can live with that."she turned to get a pair of shoes from Brooke's closet.

"Wait. One more thing."said Lucas. Peyton turned to face him."I just wanted to apologize for the way I behaved yesterday. I had no right to touch you what so ever. I was just so angry, but that isn't an excuse. I don't want you or anybody to ever be afraid of me. I will never grab you like that again. I promise."

"Lucas you don't have to apologize. You didn't really hurt me or anything. Yes you grabbed me, but it's okay. It was nothing compared to what I did to you, so there is no need to apologize. I probably would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed. I now know exactly how you felt when you were drugged, so I have more of an understanding of what you went through, which makes me even more sorry for my part in it."

Lucas thought about what she said. It had just registered."Did you say you now know what it is like being drugged? Are you talking about that time at the party with Brooke?"

Peyton shook her head."No, yesterday Brooke took me to the hospital and I found out that Rodger drugged me."

Lucas' eyes widened."Oh wow. I'm sorry. That's awful."

"Yeah it is and the hard part is not knowing what happened."

"I know exactly how you feel. That's how I felt when I couldn't remember what happened with us. Having to rely on another person for answers is pretty bad."

"What is even worse is when you can't even ask the person you were with. There is no way that Rodger would tell me what really happened, especially not now. Not after Brooke and I went to the police."

"Wait. You went to the police?"

"Yeah, Brooke thought we should."

"She was right. It was a good idea."

"I know. I don't know what I would have done without her. I don't ever want to find out either."

"I'm glad to hear that."Lucas turned toward the restroom door as it opened.

"Broody. What are you doing here?"asked Brooke looking between the two.

Lucas walked over to Brooke and pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head."I came over to see you. You were supposed to call me yesterday, but you didn't. I was worried."

"I know. I'm sorry. I left my cell at home and then we didn't get home until after midnight. We ended up just falling asleep. I was gonna call you in a bit."said Brooke wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Sure you were."kidded Lucas.

"Come on, I was. I promise."Brooke leaned in and gave him a quick kiss.

"I should go."said Peyton.

Brooke pulled away from Lucas."No, you don't have to."

"I really should. I have some stuff to do before school. I'll see you both later."she walked to the door, but then turned back and walked over to Brooke. Peyton pulled Brooke into a tight hug."Thank you Brooke. I don't know what I would have done yesterday if I didn't have you with me. You really are the best person I know. I will never forget it. Bye."she walked out.

Brooke turned around to see Lucas looking a little shocked."What?"

Lucas shook his head."Nothing."

"That look on your face didn't look like nothing to me."

"It's just a little weird seeing you and Peyton being friendly after all this time."

Brooke scrunched her face."I know, isn't it?"

"So what does it mean? Are you friends again?"

Brooke shook her head."I don't know. I know she really needs someone right now, so I'm gonna be that person. I'm not ready to hang out with her on a daily basis or have regular sleepovers though. So I'm not exactly sure what you would call us."

Lucas nodded in understanding."She told me about yesterday. How are you? I know it must have been hard for you too."

"It was, but yesterday was about Peyton. Finding out that Rodger didn't do anything to her while she was out of it was a relief. We were really scared that he had."

Lucas pulled Brooke to him and wrapped his arms around her."Well he didn't and she's gonna be okay. What did the police say?"

"Nothing really. They said we didn't have any real proof, but they would question him and possibly get a search warrant and if they found any drugs in his possession, they'd bring him in."

"Lets hope they do. I'd love to see that bastard go to jail."said Lucas shaking his head.

"Me too."Brooke pulled away from Lucas slightly and looked up at him."I'm sorry for ruining our evening yesterday. I know we had plans, it's just that Peyt..."

Lucas shook his head."Don't even worry about it. What you did instead was way more important. We'll just have to do it another day."

"That sounds like a plan."Brooke again leaned in and gave him a kiss.

Lucas quickly pulled away remembering why he was in such a good mood."So guess what I did yesterday while you were with Peyton?"

Brooke shrugged."I don't know, you missed me?"

"I always miss you when I'm not with you, but no that's not it. Guess again."said Lucas smiling.

"I don't want to, just tell me Lucas. I'm not good at guessing and I really want to know what has you all smiley."

"Okay, fine, but your no fun."

"What? Me no fun? Well that's a first, but whatever. What did you do yesterday?"

"Well my mom has this friend who is a doctor and well he was in town yesterday checking out his new office. He went to visit her and she told him about my accident and how I might never get to play basketball again. It turns out he specializes in these type of injuries and he offered to take a look at my case. I went to see him and he gave me a full exam and took some x-rays. He said all the swelling in my shoulder had gone down. That's what the other doctors were waiting to happen. Anyways, he said the x-rays and the other test results looked good. He said I'm on my way to a full recovery, which means I will be able to play again."finished Lucas excitedly.

"Oh my god! That's great Lucas. I know how much you were hoping you'd hear that. This is pretty amazing. Everything is going to work out for you. I am so happy for you."Brooke wrapped her arms around his neck."You really deserve this Lucas. I'm glad you got it."

Lucas smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her."Your pretty amazing yourself, you know that?"

Brooke smiled."Of course I do, but you can keep telling me. I don't mind."laughed Brooke."Now will you please leave so I can get dressed?"Brooke playfully pushed him away.

"I'm not going anywhere, but don't let me stop you from getting ready."said Lucas as he tried to untie Brooke's robe.

Brooke pushed his hands away."Lucas stop. I really have to get ready or we'll be late for school."

"I know. I was only trying to help."

"By undressing me?"asked Brooke.

"Well this thing has to come off so you can get dressed, doesn't it?"smirked Lucas tugging on her robe.

"Whatever."Brooke pushed Lucas outside of her room."You wait for me in the living room. I won't be long."

"Fine."pouted Lucas.

Brooke laughed as she shut her door. She quickly opened it."I almost forgot."Lucas turned back to her and she pulled him to her."I love you."She gave him a kiss before she pushed him away."I just realized I hadn't said it yet."

Lucas smiled at her."Well I love you too. I'll see you when your done."he turned and walked away.

Brooke closed her door behind her and picked up her phone and dialed Peyton's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, where did you go?"

"Home. I didn't want to impose on you anymore and Lucas seemed to like he wanted some alone time with you."

Brooke laughed."Well he did, but I made him go to the living room. So I'll see you at school, right?"

"Uh...well...I think I'm actually gonna stay home today."

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Yeah, my dad is here with me. He surprised me with a trip home. I want to spend some time with him."

"Okay. Well tell papa Peyton I said hi and call me later. Let me know your okay."

"I will. Thank you Brooke. I really do love you."

"Yeah, bye."Brooke hung up the phone and let out a sigh._ This was still so hard._

* * *

_Thank you all for all the reviews. I love reading each and everyone of them. I know not much happened in this chapter, but everything in this chapter had to happen so that the next chapter worked. Now the next chapter is the last one. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I will have the last chapter up as soon as I can. Please read and review._

**Coming Up:**

Rodger makes another appearance.

Lucas is in the right place at the right time.

Someone has a huge announcement to make.


	37. New Beginnings

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

_**New Beginnings**_

Jake ran up to Peyton's door. Not seeing her at school, he decided to use his lunch break to see if she was okay. He knocked and waited for her to answer.

Peyton ran to the door, thinking her dad might have forgotten his keys. She opened the door and was surprised to see Jake standing in front of her."Oh, Jake. Hi. What are you doing here?"

"Well you weren't in school today so I just thought I'd come over and see if you were okay. I know that with everything that happened yesterday, it must have been hard for you."said Jake.

"You know about yesterday?"

"Yeah."said Jake as he looked at her."Your the one who told me about it. How did Lucas take the news? What did Brooke say about him?"

Peyton nodded to herself. Of course that was was he was talking about. She motioned him in."We can talk in the living room. My dad won't be back for a while."

"Your dad's back?"

"Yeah, he just left to get us something to eat."

"Good. I'm glad he's home. This is something you really need."

"It is. "smiled Peyton."I have missed him so much and after everything that has been happening lately I really do need him here."

Jake nodded."So how did Lucas take it? I mean if you don't mind telling me, that is."said Jake sitting down.

Peyton sat down next to him."Of course I want to tell you about it. You have been here for me when no one was and I owe you so much."she grabbed his hand and held it in hers."So Lucas was definitely mad, but understandably so. Brooke ended up letting me tell him myself. He wanted to call the police, but Brooke got there and talked him out of it. I don't know if he really would have done it, but he he later apologized for the way he reacted."

"Well that's good, I guess."

"Yeah, it is. Things aren't back to the way they were, but they are still good. Things with Brooke are also a lot better. She was really there for me yesterday. When I found out what happened I wanted to die, but she was the strong, smart one who said to go to the hospital and I'm glad she did. Now at least I know what didn't happen."

Jake looked at her confused."What are you talking about? What do you mean you at least know what didn't happen?"

"Oh, that's right you don't know."Peyton took a deep breath."Yesterday I found out that Rodger, the guy who gave me the drugged Vodka for Lucas, drugged me the other night at the party."

"Oh my god. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Brooke took me to the hospital and the doctor confirmed that I was in fact drugged with the same thing Lucas was. That's all he did to me though, if you know what I mean."said Peyton a little uncomfortable talking about this with the guy she now had feelings for.

Jake nodded, understanding exactly what she meant."I'm glad your okay Peyton. That guy is a jerk and he needs to be stopped."

"I know. Brooke and I went to the police too, so the only thing left to do is see what they do."

Jake couldn't resist any longer, he pulled her to him and held her tight."Are you sure your okay?"

Peyton nodded into his chest."I don't really remember anything, so I guess that's a good thing."

Jake pulled her away slightly and looked at her."I don't know what I would have done if you were hurt. In this short amount of time you have come to mean everything to me."

"I feel the same way about you Jake. I don't know what I would have done without you. You were here for me when I had no one and I'll never forget that, but ever since that kiss, hell even before that, I've been feeling things for you that I probably shouldn't and I don't know what to do about it."

"I've been feeling those same things too and maybe we don't have to do anything about them. We're friends, I know I want more now, but we should take this slow."

"I want more too, but your right, slow is good. I love that you make me feel safe, so yes, lets take things slow, but I really want to be with you so slow is definitely going to be hard."

Jake smiled."I want to be with you too."he looked at her."Would kissing you right now be considered taking things slow?"

"No, but we can go slow after the kiss because I really want you to kiss me."

Jake placed his hand on her cheek and pulled her to him and slowly leaned down and kissed her gently.

* * *

Brooke pulled the strap of her gym bag from her shoulder and leaned over the side of her car and placed the bag in her back seat. She decided to walk to her car and put her things away as she waited for Lucas to finish talking to Whitey. He was sharing his good news with him. 

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the queen bee herself. You still have one fine ass, if I do say so myself."

Brooke rolled her eyes. She didn't need to turn around to know who that voice belonged to. Rodger."What the hell are you doing here?"she asked as she turned around.

"What? Your not happy to see me?"he tsked."And here I thought I meant more to you. I'm hurt Brooke."Rodger placed his hand over his heart for emphasis.

"Don't make me gag. Seriously what the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh I don't know, looking for that bitch you call your friend. Where the hell is Peyton?"

Brooke scoffed."You don't actually expect me to answer that, do you?"

"Why wouldn't you? Peyton and I have gotten rather close lately, if you know what I mean."

"No, what I know is that you have to drug or force yourself on a girl to get some and the funny thing is, even after doing both of those things, you still haven't slept with either of us."Brooke knew she shouldn't have said anything, but she just wanted to wipe that smug look off his face.

Rodger walked up to Brooke and grabbed her by the arm."Well we can change that right here, right now."he said with a laugh.

Brooke tried to pull out of his grasp, but he was holding on tight."I don't think so. You need to stay the hell away from me and Peyton or..."

"Or what?"laughed Rodger."You'll go to the police again? Yeah that really worked the last time. They didn't find anything so it's my word against you two and there's no way anyone is going to believe two sluts over me and my family."he tightened his grip on Brooke and leaned into her and whispered."You know, I'm kinda happy I didn't do your friend. Your the one I've always wanted."

Brooke tried to push him away."Your disgusting. Now get your hands off of me."shouted Brooke.

"Now why would I want to do that?"

"Because she said so."

Brooke looked past Rodger and saw Lucas walking toward them. There he was, her life savor for the second time, saving her again from a creep.

Rodger turned around."Who the hell are you?"

"I'm the guy who's gonna kick your ass. if you don't get your hands off my girlfriend."

Rodger let go of Brooke and walked up to Lucas."Your going out with that slut?"he asked pointing to Brooke laughing."It doesn't bother you, having to share her with everybody? Just a second ago she was coming on to me."

"You wish."

"No, she wishes, but don't worry I don't do sluts."

"Dude if I were you I'd shut the hell up. Talk about her like that again and I'll..."

Rodger cut him off."You'll what? Kick my ass? Ha! I'd like to see you try. What damage do you think you could do with that broken arm?"

"What he can't do, I'll do."said Nathan walking up to the two."Now would you like to see me try?"

"Hey don't forget about me. I want to help too."said Jake walking up to them, but he didn't stop, he continued to walk over to Rodger and punched him."Don't you ever go near Peyton again! I'd say stay away from Brooke too, but I think those two have that covered."said Jake pointing to Lucas and Nathan.

"That's right. What Lucas doesn't got I do."said Nathan glaring at Rodger.

Rodger raised his hands in defeat."Hey guys, this is a huge understanding. It's those sluts that can't keep their hands off of me."

"What did I say about talking about Brooke like that?"asked Lucas taking a step toward Rodger.

Brooke walked past Rodger and went to Lucas."Don't bother with him Lucas. He's not worth it. He never has been and he never will be. Lets just go."Brooke pulled Lucas toward her car.

"Oh, before you leave Brooke."said Rodger. Brooke begrudgingly turned around."If you or that bitch go to the police again, you will regret it."he turned and walked away.

"Why did we let him go? We should have seriously kicked his ass."Nathan turned to Brooke."Who exactly was that guy and why did he have his hands on you?"Nathan was ready to fight that guy and he didn't even know why.

"He's the guy that gave Peyton that drugged Vodka to give Lucas."said Brooke.

"He also drugged Peyton the other night and left her thrown on Brooke's lawn."said Jake still really mad.

"What? When did all that happen?"asked Nathan.

"The other night after the party. I found her outside my house. The next morning was when she told me about what she did and then I went and talked to you about it, remember?"

Nathan nodded."Okay, so I again ask, why did we let that bastard go? He is in need of a serious ass kicking."

"I agree with you there."said Lucas pulling Brooke to him."Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"she shook her head."Good."

"So why was he pissed at you and Peyton?"asked Nathan. Everyone around him seemed to know everything, but him. This involved his ex girlfriend and best friend so he wanted to know everything.

"We went to the police last night and told them everything we knew about him. I guess they talked to him already and now he's pissed."said Brooke.

"That's why he said something about going to the police again."said Nathan now understanding.

"Yeah and I guess the police didn't find anything on him, at least that's what he said, so there's nothing we can do now."

"Well we can always do what I said and kick his ass."said Nathan.

"What would that solve Nate?"asked Brooke.

"Nothing, but it would feel good. He can't go around drugging people and think he can get away with it. Sure Peyton has done some stupid shit lately, but she sure as hell didn't deserve to be drugged."

"I know that, but I don't think there is anything else we can do about him."

"Well you and Peyton need to be careful. I have to go get Haley. She said she had to talk to someone about tutoring after practice. She should be done by now."

Brooke pulled out of Lucas' hold and walked over to Nathan and gave him a hug."Thanks for wanting to beat Rodger up, but seriously he isn't worth it."

"I know, but I mean it Brooke, be careful. That guy is dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I love you too."smiled Brooke."Besides I have Lucas over here to protect me, isn't that right Broody?"

"Yep, me and my broken arm."laughed Lucas.

"You see, I'm safe. I'll call you later Nate."

"Okay, well I'll see ya."Nathan turned and walked toward the school.

Brooke turned to Jake."So daddy, do you need a ride?"

"Na, I have my mom's car."

"Okay. So are you headed home?"

"No, my parents took Jenny to visit some family in Charlotte, so I'm actually going to Peyton's."

Brooke smiled wide."So you two, huh?"

Jake shrugged."I don't know what your talking about Brooke."

"Don't play dumb with me Jagelski, I'm better at it than you. Don't stand there and pretend I didn't walk in on you two kissing."

"Whoa, you were kissing Peyton?"asked Lucas surprised.

"Yes, he was and now he's on his way to see her. Are you two together?"asked Brooke excitedly.

"We're taking things slow Brooke, so don't get too excited."

"How can I not? This was what I've wanted for the both of you forever. This is awesome. I'm gonna have to talk to her later about this taking it slow business."

"So does that mean you two are friends again?"asked a hopeful Jake. He knew that was what Peyton desperately wanted.

"I don't know, maybe."was all Brooke said.

"Well I hope it does, because Peyton is really trying here Brooke. She really wants to right all the wrongs she's done lately. I really hope she can right this wrong."

Brooke smiled."You are too cute. I can tell you really care about her. I know you'll be good to her."

"I will be."

Brooke nodded."Well I guess I should get Broody over here, home so he can change before his mom gets upset. He has a family dinner he has to attend at the cafe."

"Well I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow."said Jake.

"See ya."Lucas wrapped his arm around Brooke's waist and they walked to her car."You are gonna go with me to this dinner thing, right?"

"I don't know, this is a family thing Lucas and whatever it is your mom and Keith have to say, I'm not sure they want me there to hear it."

"Brooke they are crazy about you, almost as much as I am, which means your practically family, so say you'll have dinner with us."

Brooke smiled at him."If you want me to go, then okay, I'll go."

"I was hoping you'd say that. Now why don't we go to my house and you can help me change."

"I am definitely up for that."

* * *

Brooke and Lucas walked into the cafe at about 9:30 that evening. While Brooke was at Lucas' house with him, he had gotten a phone call from his mother saying they were extremely busy at the cafe and would have to have a late dinner after the rush was over. That had been fine with them because they were both still in bed when Karen called. 

Brooke and Lucas walked over to the table where Keith sat."Hey, uncle Keith. your looking pretty lonely. It's a good thing I decided to bring Lucas, huh?"

"Hey there Brooke. What have you two been up to?"Brooke and Lucas both looked at each other and smiled. Keith caught the exchange."Never mind. I don't even want to know."laughed Keith.

"So where is my mom?"

"She's in the back getting our food ready. Are you gonna stay too, Brooke?"

"Yes are you?"asked Karen walking up to the table with a tray of food."I hope you are. I assumed that you would and fixed a plate for you. It's what you always order here."

Brooke smiled at her."I'd love to stay."she took a seat and Lucas sat down next to her.

"Good. I especially want you to hear what we have to say tonight."said Karen with a smile.

Lucas fake frowned."Then why am I even here, if she's the one you want to hear this big news?"

"Oh, don't be silly. We want you here too."

"Okay, well don't keep us in suspense any longer. What do you two want to tell us?"asked Lucas.

Karen sat down next to Keith and took his hand in hers."Well we've decided to get married."Karen looked over to Lucas to see his reaction. His face was blank.

Brooke jumped up and ran over to Karen."Oh my god, this is great news. I am so happy for the both of you."Brooke turned to Karen."Didn't I tell you in the hospital that you two were going to get married soon?"

"That you did Brooke and that's why I wanted you here to hear this."

"This is so great. Did you hear her Lucas? She said she's marrying your uncle. Wow! Your uncle is going to be your dad. That's a little weird, but whatever."said Brooke rolling her eyes."It's still pretty awesome."Brooke turned to Lucas, who still hadn't said a word."Hey Broody, are you with us?"

"Oh, yeah, wow. This is pretty big. Are you two sure about this?"

"Yes we are. I love your mom Luke, you know that."said Keith.

"Yeah, I do. Wow, this is great. I knew you two would end up together. I'm happy for you mom."Lucas got up from his seat and went over and hugged his mom and Keith.

"Well this looks like a rather happy moment. What's going on?"asked Haley as her and Nathan walked into the cafe.

Karen looked up."I'm so glad your here Haley. Keith and I are getting married."

"Oh my god! That's great. I hoped for this for you two for forever, haven't I Lucas?"asked Haley giving Karen a hug.

"Yes, she did always say she wanted this."said Lucas.

"Well congratulations Keith and Karen."said Nathan.

"Thanks."said Keith.

"Yes, thank you Nathan."said Karen.

Brooke looked around the cafe. There no longer were many customers, seeing how it was about closing time."This is a celebration, we should have music. Do you have a radio in here Ms. Roe soon to be Mrs. Scott?"

Karen laughed. You had to love that girl."Yeah, there's one behind the counter next to the coffee machine."

"Perfect."Brooke walked behind the counter and turned it on. She walked back over to Lucas and pulled his hand."Come on Broody, dance with me."

Lucas groaned."Brooke, no. Not right now. I'm not in the mood."

Brooke leaned into him."Now be fair, do I say that to you when you want to, _you know_? No I don't, but I can start."said Brooke with a smile.

"Fine. You'll get what you want, if I continue to get what I want."

"Always."said Brooke pulling him to her. They barely started to dance when the door opened.

"Oh, we're sorry. We didn't know this place was closed for a private party."said Peyton with Jake behind her.

"Don't be silly P. Sawyer. Come in, you too daddy."Brooke let go of Lucas and walked over to Peyton.

Lucas was thankful for Brooke's distraction. He really didn't want to dance and this way he was let off the hook without her being upset.

"So you too will never guess, but Karen and Keith..."Brooke stopped herself and turned to Karen."Can I tell her?"Karen nodded so she turned back to Peyton."Are getting married. Isn't that great?"

Peyton nodded."Yeah, that's great. Congrats you two. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks Peyton."said Karen with a huge smile.

Brooke turned to Lucas."Now lucky for you Peyton showed up. Your off the hook."she turned to Peyton."You on the other hand, have to dance with me."she pulled Peyton from Jake's side."You too Tutor Girl. You can leave your boy toy's side for a couple of minutes and come dance with us."Brooke saw her hesitate and she pulled Peyton with her as she went over to Haley and drug her too to the middle of the cafe. Brooke was surprised to see Haley get into it after only a few minutes. The three girls were enjoying their dancing and had even convinced Karen to dance with them, when the door once again opened. Brooke and Peyton stopped dancing when they saw who was standing in the doorway.

Debbie motioned them over and they both excused themselves and walked over to her.

"What the hell are you doing here?"asked Brooke.

"Okay, well I expected that kind of a welcome."

"Yeah, well Brooke was being nice. What do you want Debbie? We really don't have time for this."said Peyton.

"Well, I was on my way to your house Peyton, when I saw yours and Brooke's cars parked outside. I thought you both would want to know that the police arrested my brother. Apparently they were watching him and he was at a party and I guess he put something in a girls drink and when he tried to leave with her, they stopped him. He still had some of whatever he gave her on him, so they arrested him. I'm sorry for what I said to you the other day Peyton. Obviously I was wrong. Well that's all I came to say, so I'll leave you both to finish whatever it was you were doing. Bye."Debbie turned and walked out of the cafe.

Brooke turned to Peyton and threw her arms around her."Did you hear that? We just got what we wanted. I can't believe it."

"I know. I guess he was dumb enough to do it again."said Peyton still hugging Brooke.

"Hey, what's going on?"asked Lucas as he and Jake walked over to them.

Brooke let go of Peyton and went and hugged Lucas."That was Debbie, Rodger's sister. She just told us that the police arrested him. Can you believe it? He's actually going to be punished for everything he did."

"That's great news."said Jake."How did the police arrest him?"

"Well apparently he was stupid enough to try and drug another girl and the police were watching him. They stopped him and arrested him."said Peyton.

Karen walked up to the happy foursome with Keith, Haley, and Nathan behind her."What's going on over here? You all seem pretty happy."she smiled at the teens.

"Well we just found out that the guy that drugged me was arrested.  
said Lucas.

"Oh my. That's wonderful news, but how do you know who drugged you?"

Lucas looked at Peyton and then his mother."That's a really long story and I don't want to get into it. Just know that I found out and he is now in jail."

Nathan nodded at Lucas and Lucas gave him a nod, both in understanding.

"Well Like I said, that is great news. This is turning into a real celebration. First we find out that Lucas will be able to play basketball again, then we announce my engagement, and then the creep who caused your accident is put behind bars. Can this night get any better?"asked Karen smiling. She turned around and hugged Keith.

Brooke looked around the cafe and saw that everyone was genuinely happy. All the drama that had been surrounding them was finally gone and now it was time for nothing but good things to come. She turned and looked over at Peyton, who was laughing with Jake. She was finally happy. She looked over to Haley and Nathan, who were talking to Karen and Keith, both men had their arms around the girls protectively. She finally looked over to Lucas, who was looking at her and smiling. He made his way over to her and wrapped his arms around her."I love you."he whispered."More than you'll ever know."

_They had finally dealt with all the unexpected things that had occurred in this short time and now it was time to heal. Things could only get better from here._

_**The end**_

* * *

_I just wanted to say that I am sad this story is over, but it had to end sometime. I had a really great time writing this story and an even better time reading all of your reviews. I loved each and every review I got. I loved hearing that you all liked this story. I hope I didn't disappoint you with this last chapter. Please let me know what you thought. This is the last time you can reviews so please do so, even if you never reviewed in the past. Let me know what you thought of this story. For any of you who are interested, I have already started my next story. It's called Secrets Kept. It's a Lucas/Dan/Nathan story with BL and NP. If your interested please check it out and let me know what you think. Well that's pretty much it. Let me know what you think. Please read and review. Thanks._

_l-a-c-18_


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